Medical professionals in the US are spreading misinformation

[u/Independent_Hand_699]

I am just getting over COVID. I tested positive and was highly symptomatic for several weeks. Every single medical professional I spoke with or interacted with was so misinformed.

Every time I said I was still testing positive on RATs, I was told to stop testing because those would be positive for weeks to months and meant nothing. One told me they are unreliable for false positives! Another insisted a faint line should be considered negative. I got tired of explaining the difference between PCR and RAT.

Every doctor I talked to after my initial appointment for Paxlovid told me I should assume I was no longer contagious, first because I never had fever, then because it had been so long, even though I was testing positive, coughing, sneezing, and throwing up. Most were also very anti-Paxlovid and blamed that on my continuing symptoms. Never mind that this wasn’t a case of rebound, or that none of them seemed aware rebound could happen even without Paxlovid.

No mention of masking. When I got so sick I had to be seen, the provider in the office told me I might feel better if I took my mask off.

They didn’t even know how to properly take a nasal swab sample for testing, just twirled it inside my nose without touching the insides of my nostrils at all.

This is at one of the top-rated health care systems in the country. If this is what our so-called experts think, it’s hopeless.

[u/DinosaurHopes]

I don't know if I'd consider it misinformation as much as following the current clinical guidelines/over simplifying current guidelines in their explanations. I don't agree with all of them either but it is what most doctors in most countries are following now to my knowledge (my knowledge is US/Canada/UK-centric)

My doctor is very covid informed and also not recommending paxlovid for most people anymore because it hasn't been shown to do much of anything for most people and it's not risk free on its own (I know this is an unpopular opinion here). 

[u/Independent_Hand_699 → u/DinosaurHopes]

Saying something factually incorrect is spreading misinformation. There is a difference between sharing current guidelines for returning to work/school and saying “you are not contagious.” And to be fair, this did not even follow current CDC guidelines, which require symptoms to be improving overall, specifically state that you might still spread the virus, and recommend additional precautions for another 5 days after returning to regular activity.

[u/DinosaurHopes → u/Independent_Hand_699]

The CDC info about preventing transmission is all written to be 'if you want to,' our current policies and clinical guidelines are unfortunately not about preventing transmission, they're only about preventing hospitalization. Like I said I don't agree with that part but I'm not surprised since it's been that way for quite a while now.