Super dodger? So far, so good.

There was an article the other day in the Washington Post on super-dodgers, i.e., those who have managed to avoid coming down with covid. 

There are no winners in a pandemic. That said, if you’ve made it to the summer of 2022 without yet testing positive for the coronavirus, you might feel entitled to some bragging rights. Who’s still in the game at this point? Not Anthony S. Fauci. Not President Biden, who tested positive this week. Not Denzel Washington, Camila Cabello or Lionel Messi. Not your friend who’s even more cautious than you but who finally caught it last week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that nearly 60 percent of Americans had contracted the virus at some point — and that was as of the end of February, before the extremely contagious BA.4 and BA.5 variants became rampant.

I'm "still in the game at this point," but who knows for how long?

Like most of my friends and family members, I've been cautious. Not insanely so, but cautious still.

Even during the early days, I never shut down 100%. I went grocery shopping. I ran other errands.

But I didn't see friends and family, other than in masked drive-bys. The shelter where I volunteer sent us all home, and I went happily. 

For those first few months, my brother was the only person in my bubble. We had dinner (in: I cooked) once a week. Brother as Plus-One. Who'd a thunk it?

My sister Kath and I have the same hairdresser. In June 2020, she had Rita come to her backyard to give us haircuts. We all kept our distance. We all stayed masked. We didn't go into the house.

Meanwhile, I let my hair go gray. (An excellent decision.)

By fall, things had opened up a bit. I had a cautious, masked visit with a couple of cousins. I took walks with a friend (masked). I saw a little of my sibs and nieces. 

On Christmas Eve, I had a smaller-than-usual celebration.

Let there be vaccines!

And then there were, and things got better.

I saw folks. I went out to eat - cautiously, if the restaurant was outdoors. I went back to volunteering at St. Francis House. With my mask on, my N95.

Although my friends and family were similarly cautious, a few of them got covid. My friends Peter and Tony. My niece Molly (but not my sister Trish.) My cousin Ellen and her husband Mike. 

I've had a few scares. 

Right after last Christmas, I shared an elevator with someone at St. Francis House who went home later that day with covid. We were both masked, but just in case, I didn't go up to my sister Trish's for New Year's Eve.

I was fine. 

This spring, my friend K attended her 50th college reunion. Everyone was vaxxed. Everyone was masked. She came back with covid. We had lunch (inside) and later that day she tested positive. 

I was a bit nervous. We'd been masks-off to eat. We were eating Chinese, so sharing the dishes. 

I was fine.

A couple of weeks ago, I spent three hours in a small, poorly ventilated room at St. Francis House. I was N95'd. My colleague wasn't. That day, he tested positive. I was hoping that the N95 would protect me, and damned if it didn't. I laid low for a five days, testing every other day.

I was fine. 

Other than wearing a mask (N95) whenever I'm in a store, on public transportation, in an Uber, or at St. Francis House, I'm not being super cautious. I'm not eating out a lot, but I'm mostly back to normal. 

I don't think I have any magic touch. 

So far, I've been no more cautious than a lot of the folks I know who've gotten it. Just lucky, I guess. 

Scientists have found no conclusive evidence of innate genetic immunity. “It would be extremely unlikely that any innate immune system properties could protect against all infections,” said Eleanor Murray, an epidemiologist and professor at the Boston University School of Public Health.

Maybe someday they'll figure it out.

And maybe someday, I'll get covid. I'm vaxxed and doubled boosted, so I hope it'll be mild.

If I'm going to get covid, I just hope it doesn't get in the way of my trip to Ireland in September. 

To be on the safe side, I'm pretty much shutting down for a couple of weeks before I leave, hoping to keep my super dodger streak going.

I'll be fine. At least I hope I will be. 

Super dodger? So far, so good.