ABC13 spoke with Anthony Williams, who tested positive and is now recovering from the variant.
“I just couldn’t breathe. I felt horrible to the point that I didn’t know that if I closed my eyes I would wake up the next day,” Williams said. “A combination of fear and just trying to be proactive. Something said, ‘You just have to get up and go to the emergency room.’
Williams is a pastor, teacher and veteran who survived an injury during an explosion and was shot on the battlefield in Iraq.
“Honestly, for me, COVID-19 and its variants is worse than [the injuries], because it’s a very difficult situation not to know if the next breath is the last, ”Williams said.
He said he has since fully recovered.
“What people need to focus on is getting vaccinated and protecting themselves from all the strains that exist right now,” said Baylor Medical University professor Robert Atmer. “And maybe we’ll have to give it a boost. We don’t know yet. I think a lot of people predict it’s going to be necessary.”
In Harris County, the health department has only found the British variant of the virus.
However, this does not mean that others are not in the area. The health department says residents still have to keep their guards high.
RELATED: Houston health officials use new techniques to detect variants of COVID-19
The Houston Department of Health has been analyzing wastewater in different areas of the city to detect COVID-19 over the past year.
Last week, the UK variant was found at very low levels in several wastewater samples. The variant of Brazil has not been detected at all in our area.
Dr. David Persse said no one had ever done it before and that it is a new science they are still trying to unravel.
“So this really isn’t a surprise. What we’re hoping to do is be able to get a better idea of how much it can be spread across the community. Again, it won’t be terribly specific, but it’s pretty sensitive, so we’ll get a warning early, ”he said. “While we may not be able to identify anything, we will at least know what is probably about to happen.”
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