c-span -- >> co x supports c-span along with these providers, giving you a line to democracy. >> the state of the state address is life today at 1:00 p.m. eastern, online at c-span.org, or watch coverage on c-span now, our new video app. >> washington unfiltered, c-span in your pocket. download c-span now today. ♪ >> wall street journal this morning spanwj. wall street journal looks at those cases. it highlights that one million figure that was earlier this week, saying the u.s. reported 1.0 a million infections monday as most states work to clear

backlogs. that pushes the seven day average of daily reported infections to 480,270 according to a johns hopkins analysis. this also adding that the case data is always underreported end of true number -- over the holidays, many states slowed reported going key metrics and started to catch up after work, adding today searching testing demand -- at home tests often are not reflected in that data. when it comes to the reporting. when it comes to hospitalizations, the wall street journal also taking a look because of what is happening with omicron, saying those confirmed or suspected covid cases reached a seven day average of 105,100 38 tuesday

according to data posted by the u.s. department of health and human services, below the peak on january 10 of 2021. this adds also that while covid tests remain in short supply over much of the u.s., testing was less robust, complicating comparisons. those are the statistics but when it comes to experience, we want to hear from you who watch us as far as how you are dealing with covid currently or how you dealt with it if you have already dealt with that. if you want to share, that is (202) 748-8000 for those of you in the eastern and central time zones. (202) 748-8002 mountain pacific -- (202) 748-8002 -- (202) 748-8001 mountain and pacific. many of you posting on facebook. that is facebook.com/c-span. beverly on our facebook page

saying i have it. it is not a laughing matter. dw rogers talking about his son-in-law having it. all three shots. deborah saying not jabbed or boosted, had it or 10 days, for five days, didn't eat, headache and cough. she said, by the way, the past for years, i have taken vitamins. i'm 64 and slightly overweight. for those 10 days, i was taking amoxicillin. i feel great now. that is some of the people posting. let's start with james in rome, georgia on his periods with covid -- his experience with covid. caller: i had a bad experience because of president trump and his admitted ration. that his administration. once they found out this was

airborne -- host: did you have covid or not? caller: i called last year around the middle of last year. host: what was your experience then when you caught it? caller: mia my wife in the hospital -- me and my wife in the hospital. they did not diagnose us with covid. she had blood clots. she stayed in the hospital for about two weeks. host: how long did you stay in the hospital? caller: about three days. this is what i'm saying to her she's obese. i stayed in the hospital for three days. they sent me home early because i did not have insurance, the reason being. the government was not assisting people with this and a lot of people were going home and dying later. a lot of my friends died. host: how is your wife doing currently? caller: she is suffering from lung covid, still has a cough,

barely can walk. why you put up when trump bragged about china dashcam and -- about china -- him and xi. host: we will leave it there. patrick? caller: hello. it was amazing. i had all the symptoms when -- this was right before the diagnosis, same with the guy who just called. i had no sense of smell, no sense of taste. it was a nightmarish flu, but i am very good at organics, so i was capable of being able to get over it. what was astonishing is, when you have a hyper sense of smell, when that is gone, it's ironic that that that -- ironically that that was the worst experience.

last week, i was hospitalized with what i thought was omicron. it turns out i had the flu. everybody's getting the flu at the same time. it is all over the place and now i find out that there's a new variant that is showing up in south africa, not south africa, south of france, and they are saying there's even more mutations on this virus. host: how to the experience you currently have -- the experiences you currently have change your daily life? caller: dramatically, because unlike some of the poor souls that went through this, i have to tell you, when i was in the emergency room, it changes your perspective. excuse me. it changes your perspective on how incredible these people are and what they are facing and

what the nation is facing because we need to advance our perspectives multiple generations ahead and prepare for each wave way ahead and i think that we are actually doing it now, but my whole reality is i don't know if i even want to live near a city in this old reality -- this whole new reality. have a good day. host: mentioning the flu. that is discussed in the washington post this morning, saying compared with last winter's use, social distancing and masking are far less widespread. exporters have moved -- it's borders been more than open

-- its borders have been more than open. israel received their flu jab so far this year compared with 24% in the same. of last year and when he percent in 2019. you can add that to the mix. let's hear from cindy in connecticut. below. caller: -- hello. caller:hello. i don't know anybody whose life has not changed dramatically because of covid and everyone's experience will be unique. my daughter has seen some terrible things and i know from her experiences -- -- for a few

hours and that was it. we are vaccinated, not boosted. none of the rest of the household did get it. i believe handwashing is the best thing you can do, as with any disease. host: what was your access to testing like? is it easy for you to get testing where you live? caller: well, you know, i had bought some before thanksgiving to have on hand. we plan family get-togethers. i had kids traveling from other parts of the country, so i wanted to have some before i had guests coming.

i wanted to make sure in case somebody had a cold or any symptoms that we could test before i had people in my house. and he literally just had sniffles for a few hours. he was vaccinated. so maybe it was less. or maybe we are just panicking. who the heck knows? it is confusing and i don't think we can vaccinate our way out of this. i am not anti-vaccine but i think we need to have other tools. we cannot say we are not going to have therapeutics because we want to punish the unvaccinated. people who are vaccinated are getting this to you well and we are pushing our health care workers by not -- this too and we are pushing our health care workers by not. host: let's hear from joe any ohio. your experience with covid. caller: ok. i just got over it about two weeks ago and i didn't even

realize i had it and my wife caught it and she took the home test. the home test said that she was negative, that she didn't have it, but she still felt sick so she went in took a rapid -- another test from -- i believe right aid, and it said she had it, so these home tests they are passing out, they are telling you don't have it, but actually you do, so you are going out in the public and you are giving it to other people thinking you don't have it but actually you do have it. host: how did you discover that you have it? caller: because, when my wife -- i had it and then my wife got the same symptoms that i did. she was doing the exact same thing. she decided to go to rite-aid because i took the home test and it said that i didn't have it. so i knew that i had it.

host: how are you and your wife feeling now? caller: right now, we are feeling good but we had all the symptoms. we ended up getting -- we went to vegas on a plane the thing about -- on a plane into the thing about that as you have people with masks at the year or end everything -- at the airport or everything and you don't know how many of them took tests that say they didn't have it but actually they do. so you are vulnerable. host: was it that trip to vegas they gave it to your wife and you? where do you suspect you got it? caller: i believe we got it from her grandchildren -- from our grandchildren or younger kids in school that come back with it. host: ok. caller: it was right when we ran into her grandchildren that we got the symptoms. host: joe in ohio sharing his experiences as you can too if

you want this morning about your asked your answers with covid -- you can call the numbers send us a text. danielle says, i had a cold. i got a negative test. she went into labor. had her son on the 11th. gave her an iv fluid bag. i thought i was fine, no symptoms. diana rosario says, after avoiding it, one case in my family has turned into eight and it is not done. testing every two days for work now. so. far,so good . you can talk about the aspects of testing.

where testing has gone -- has gotten you. this is steve. hello. caller: good morning. i am 74 years old, vietnam veteran, not against vaccines. i cannot tell you home if he can times i got -- i cannot tell you how many times i got jabbed in 'nam. in december of 2020, for nine days, i could not taste and i could not smell anything. other than that, i felt great. my kids came over for christmas eve. they did not get it. thank god. the v.a. took care of me. january, i got my first shot, pfizer. got my second shot, got the booster to were three months ago. the funny thing is my daughter

tested positive. she wasn't feeling good christmas eve at our house. she took one of the tests that you buy in the walgreens and it came out positive. she is feeling fine now. her husband has it also. he tested positive. my wife and i were around her. she didn't get it so far, thank god. i will say this. get the vaccine if you can. i respect those who don't but get the vaccine. that is all i have got. thank you. host: steve in missouri. he talked about tests. the wall street journal reported two outlets are raising prices for testing, walmart and kroger, raising test prices after the expiration of a deal with the white house to sell the kids at cost, $14 -- the kits at cost,

$14. walmart said it is raising the price to $19.98 a box. kroger sells them for $23.99. those tests are not available on amazon. representative said they filled their commitment -- they fulfilled their commitment to sell them at cost and are working to make tests more available. peter in memphis, tennessee, your next. -- you are caller: hello. thank you. i developed a terrible fever, cough, pain, fatigue. i knew it was sort and ammonia as a physician. i had seen patients. because i have a history of rheumatic fever when i was nine, i was 63 then, in 2020, so i

qualified for a new monoclonal antibody, and ironically, it had just been approved nine days before i got sick, so it was almost providential, and i was extremely ill when i went to get the outpatient treatment, and literally, it was almost like a resurrection. i in catholic so i have the strong faith it was as close to a religious experience as i have had in my life as literally within will need four hours -- within 12 or 24 hours, the symptoms resolved. i was left with a cough and some tiredness. i had the vaccine in february of 2021. for president trump, but for him and his warp speed program, i could have died because of my

history of heart disease. host: have those experiences change to the way you go about living now? caller: no. i take precautions. i always took precautions with face masks. in the icu, we use n95 masks. but i tell patients -- i send patients as quickly as possible now when they are positive for the sars virus, i set them up for the outpatient in the -- outpatient antibody therapy. it will keep you alive and out of the hospital. host: what is the cost for something like that? caller: actually, i don't know, because, when that was approved by the fda, at that point, there was no cost because it was emergency use approval.

i think it is covered by insurance now, but as to the actual exact cost, host: i'm not aware of that. ok. caller: they are lifesaving, it is miraculous. host: peter in memphis giving his experience. let's go to independence, missouri. this is barry. hello. caller: hello. they are doing the vaccine administration's wrong. -- administrations wrong. they are doing them wrong. my experience is that they are doing the vaccine administrations wrong. host: have you had covid were not? caller: everybody is going to get covid. what kind of question is that? host: ok. let's go to brian in pasadena, maryland. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: i had covid in a hotel's

to 2021 and -- i had covid in august of 2021 and i stayed out of work for probably two weeks. my wife, she works at a hospital in baltimore. everybody there is fully vaccinated. right now, they have a major outbreak. just about everybody in her department has the new variant. she is currently out over work right now because of the variant . my biggest problem with the whole administration is, you know, the whole time they are preaching, you know, get the jab. it will stop you from getting covid. it doesn't. host: to your wife's experience, what is it like for her with everything going on? caller: she is stressed because they are short staffed and they need to have people for services but it is difficult. people are working double shifts

and weekends and all that. host: and what is her field of specialty at the hospital? caller: vascular ultrasound. host: so as far as being in close contact with people, that is pretty much day today i would think. caller: yes. just before she came down with covid, she was seeing about five people a day that were fully vaccinated with covid. host: that is brian talking about his wife's experience. you can roll that into the mix too. we want to hear about people and their experiences with covid. some people have talked about their experiences in their family, family members. you could do that too. (202) 748-8000 free straight-ahead central -- (202) 748-8000 for eastern and central time zones. president biden yesterday, talking with his team, taking a look at covid, gave what he

thought -- at least his impressions of the rise in cases in the u.s. some comments from the president. [video clip] >> i will give it to you straight. we are going to see continued rise in cases. omicron is transmissible, transmissible variant, but much different than anything we have seen before, but you can protect yourself. and you should protect yourself, quite frankly. get vaccinated, boosted. there's plenty of shots. wear our mask in public. because we -- because what we know is this. the impact from rising cases depends on the effect on a person based on whether that person is and what their vaccination status is. those are fully vaccinated, especially those with the

booster shots, and by the way, we have booster shots for the whole nation, ok? you can still get covid, but it is highly unlikely, very unlikely, that you will become seriously ill. we are seeing covid-19 cases among vaccinated in workplaces across the country, including here at the white house, but if you're vaccinated and boosted, you are highly protected. d concerned about omicron but don't be alarmed. and if you are an vaccinated, you have some reason to be alarmed. many of you will -- you know, experience severe illness in many cases. some will die needlessly. host: we are getting a sense of your experiences with covid, whether you have had at or have gotten over it. you want to tell about those experiences. scott in california in roseville, you are next.

caller: thank you. i will not waste your time with good morning. host: you are on. go ahead. caller: i am a long-hauler. 2009, i had a brain and yours him -- a brain aneurysm and i went into covid, but i was scheduled medication for that aneurysm and, oh my gosh, i have had so much nausea, fevers, night sweats, horrible things. do you have any questions for me? host: know. thank you for sharing. don in pennsylvania, hello. caller: good morning. how are you doing? by was supposed to shut down this virus here. 200,000 something died under

trump. 418,000 died under biden. host: ok, today, as far as covid is concerned -- excuse me. what is your personal experience with covid? caller: i didn't get no shot. that's number one. number two, biden's inauguration said -- host: we believe it -- we will leave it. john in florida, good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? host: fine. what is your experience with covid? caller: i had covid early on down in florida. it was quick and thankfully didn't affect me. i work in a business that rinse boats down in florida. about 50 boats. it is almost as if we are in two different worlds. nobody wears masks here. everybody is going out on their boats having a great time,

getting plenty of vitamin d. it is amazing. i look at everybody up north. i have family up north. everybody is masked and they are petrified, scared to death. here in the free state of florida, we are having a great time. host: your experience with covid, elaborate on that.what happened ? caller: i felt bad for a few days and that was the end of it. no muss, no fuss. i'm 60. host: where you tested? caller: i was tested specifically for covid, absolutely. host: after that, you are fine? caller: a few days, no fuss, no muss. i went back to work. i took a test, tested positive, then negative. i went to the doctor, tested positive, then negative at the doctor's office again. he said, go back to work. everyone is welcome down here. host: your employer is ok with

the fact that he was back to work as quick as you did? caller: absolutely. we are going to make money. it is all about money. can we stay home for months on end? i need to work. i have to work. so does everybody. we cannot continue to stay home and fear. host: ok peerless hear from anthony new jersey -- ok. let's hear from anthony in new jersey. caller: i got a call the sunday before christmas that i had come into contact with somebody who tested positive. i went the following day to my doctor to get tested. it took two days. by wednesday, i was feeling kind of lousy. my doctor said he tested negative. when i told her that i didn't feel well, she said, you have to get another test. so i don't drive, so i walk.

she came to my house to a minister the test. i was quarantined through january 1. i'm better now. i'm getting through the last of my symptoms. but if i could nominate my doctor for a nobel peace prize, i would because she did a house call. host: you had two tests they gave you entirely different results. caller: yes. by the time i got my results back on the second test, i was sick. i had the worst sort throat i ever had. i was feeling achy and was pretty bad for three or four days. i was quarantined through january 1. host: when it comes to you were contacted about this, do you think it was the result of -- a family event, a gathering?

how do you suspect you contracted it? caller: well, i had been visiting relatives and one of the relatives -- every sunday before they go to work, the following day, and they tested positive, so they called me and told me. host: i have been asking -- it is a repeat question i have asked a couple people. as far as your life now, do you do things differently? caller: well, i am just getting back into the swing of things. i volunteered at a church for a couple days a week. i wasn't doing that. slowly starting to get back into the routine of living my life again. host: do you think you might live differently? i will put it that way. caller: well, i don't -- i'm not a shut in, but i wear masks, and

i had my final booster shot the first week of november, and if i could say one thing, i see a lot of people discarding masks and gloves on the ground and they are still medical waste and they should have the courtesy to put them into the garbage can instead of throwing them on the ground. host: that is anthony new jersey giving his assessment of having covid and what he might think that's what he thinks might happen and -- we are interested in hearing from you. share your experiences. in the eastern or central time zones, it is (202) 748-8000. the mountain and pacific time zones, it is (202) 748-8001. texting us, you can do that too

at (202) 748-8003. some of you posting on our social media sites as well. we will continue with those calls. the events of january 6 taking place, as the anniversary is tomorrow, a couple things to watch for in regards to that today on capitol hill. the u.s. capitol police chief talks about the cost of defending lawmakers with a senate committee nearly one year after the events. you can see that hearing today at 10:00 on c-span, c-span outdoor, c-span now. when it comes to memorials tomorrow, house members will share at 2:30 in the afternoon, the same platforms you can watch that on. later on, a vigil will take place on the steps of the capital at 5:30, the c-span now have also available for you to

monitor that. that tomorrow. back to your calls. looking at covid and how you are dealing with it. perry in south dakota, you are next. go ahead. caller: my wife and i both had the virus in august. we had a couple different types of happenings. we went to the emergency room with my wife. she was in very bad shape and her oxygen count was down to 74. the nurses went running to get her on oxygen. and we have relatives that came with his. -- with us. i could not get into the hospital. there was only one person allowed. so this person said we would like to try the treatments, the therapeutic type treatment, one

drug and three others with the. the doctor said, well, i have never given that prescription, but i am going to do it for you. let me know how this works out. so she took -- i went and got the therapeutics. it cost me $28 -- we are both on medicare, but, anyway, we brought her home and within two, three days, taking these four drugs that this doctor prescribed, she was up and running. i took the antibody shot in my arm. my wife couldn't take it because of her low oxygen count. she couldn't talk to shot in the arm of these antibodies, so i took that. within three days, we had an oxygen machine. we got rid of that. i mean, it is a miracle, using

these more or less -- texas drugs -- the things president trump took when he had it and got over it so. host: so you are still enjoying good health after these experiences? caller: yes. we just bounced back. the only problem we had was loss of taste. she never did have lots of taste. it was just kind of a miracle. then we heard back from what happened. this good doctor that did this prescription. we got back with the nurse and h e wanted to know how it worked. my wife said, she was kind of -- it felt like a miracle the way she came back when she was just

about ready to die when she reached the emergency room. and this doctor? we came to this doctor and said, if you make those prescriptions -- he had given out four of those prescriptions. we were the first, get about three. they came to him and said, if you write another one of those, you are out of here. you are not working for us anymore. host: that is. in south dakota talking about his wife's experience, his experience. in delaware, you are next. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm calling in about my experience with the. i has been vaccinated -- i've been vaccinated. currently waiting for my booster, which will be in a couple months. i have gotten covid and gotten over covid.

wearing a mask, washing hands constantly, you know, where my mask out in public. when i was my taste or smell, i smoke marijuana and i'm cured. host: let's go to chuck in dolores, colorado. hello. caller: good morning, pedro. thank you for c-span. i came down with the virus in 2019, december of 2019. i went to visit my mother. she was ill. my mom and dad worked over the world. people would stop in and visit from all over the world, so they were probably patient -- he was probably patient 1, or one of them. anyway, i brought it back to colorado, isolated myself, but my wife still came down with it.

we both came down with long-haulers. she. still has memory problems. -- she still has memory problems. i could barely breathe. i was on methadone for pain management for my back. and i took a blood oxygen count and my blood oxygen was down to 74, so i titrated off the methadone. and i can equate that with having covid. every joint in my body ached. i went through methadone withdrawals because i had to go to the va hospital. host: when it comes to your covid, specifically to covid, how long did you deal with it? caller: about two weeks i was in bed. about two weeks. i could barely.

-- i could barely breathe. you know when you spit up sputum, a lugee, when you have a cold? you spit it in a bottle and it will slide down. this stuff don't slide. it is like gorilla glue -- host: host: ok. that is chuck. a visiting professor at george washington university, talking about covid and what to do in response, writes "omicron is bad but we don't need lockdowns." some of her perspective. she says "the u.s. has three options for dealing with this. we could reimpose lockdowns. i believe it is a nonstarter here, even if lockdowns could more quickly bring it under control, there is no political appetite or public backing.

second, we could let it run its course. this would almost assuredly run some hospitals over the edge. there's a third path. we don't need to ask people to stay home but require they wear high-quality masks in all indoor public spaces. we should mandate proof of vaccination and boosters for indoor dining, gymnasiums, movie theaters and sporting events." more on that in the washington post. we will go to mac, i'd of south carolina, somerville. .hello . caller: my experience has been the following. when i first heard about covid, i started masking up. in february of 2021, i took my first shot. i took the other pfizer shot february 22.

november 3 of last year, i took my booster shot. so far, so good. i am still wearing my mask. some people feel they have the right to unmask. that they can be the incubation that is spreading it. so continue to wear your mask even if you are ok or think you are because i don't want your saliva in my face. host: michael, appleton, wisconsin, you are next. caller: hello. my wife and i fell ill to covid last friday after returning from a trip to lake placid. we had symptoms. we went to the drugstore and bought the last kit. she took the test and was positive. i took the test the following morning and i was positive. so we headed to -- so we had

adhered to everything the cdc was telling us to do. we had our vaccination, booster, flu shot. one of the things you need to do if you want to beat any disease is maintained good records -- suddenly i couldn't breathe and it was like someone hit me in the chest with a bat. i got to the clinic. they tested me again. they did a p.r.c. test.

they did another quick test. i was positive, confirmed. and they immediately put me in the chair and put me on an intravenous drug. in terms of monoclonal antibodies. and sent me home. that took 45 minutes. they watched me for half an hour after that to see that you are not dizzy, etc. i managed to get my wife scheduled. she went to the hospital, have the same treatment. we went home together. literally by the end of that day, literally by the end of that day, we were walking around, no fever, cough. i could breathe again. and it was a miracle. so for people out there, listen to the cdc, keep your relationship with your doctor current, fresh. make sure your medical records

are current so they can rely on those. if you want a great doctor to treat you well, he has to have the information. i know it is difficult, especially as you get older, but there you have it. good luck and i wish everyone well. host: michael in wisconsin offering his thoughts on his wife and himself and their experience with covid and treatment. testing one of those things that came up yesterday in that discussion with resident biden -- with president biden about that. here's the president from yesterday. [video clip] >> testing. this remains frustrating. it is frustrating to me. we are making improvements. in the last two weeks, we have stood up testing sites all over the country. we are adding more each and every day. google covid tests near me. go there.

google covid tests near me on google to find the nearest site where you can get tests often and free. the capacity for in-person tests, with it, we should see lines shorten. if you want to test at home, we have options now. one, drug stores and online websites or restocking. two, well, actually, more tests will become available. next week, our requirement that your insurance company reimburse you for at-home tests takes effect. you can get reimbursed. if you are insured, you can buy the testing get paid for them. the second thing i want to mention his many state and local governments and health care providers are passing out re-at-home tests -- out free

at-home tests you could pick up. the federal government is launching a website this month where you can get tests shipped to your home for free on request. host: if you want to see more of that from the president, you can go to our website. i would also invite you to download our c's phone -- our c-span now and. we can show you things happening on this network in real time. let's hear from ted in pennsylvania. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? host: i am well, thank you. how about yourself? caller: good. i got my first pfizer on 2/25 last year, the second april fools' day. i was at yankee stadium in

april, july, and they were testing, and i got my third shot, so i am thrice jabbed. i got my booster a couple weeks ago. no big deal. host: you had a total of four shots? caller: i got four shots. host: how did that work. caller: no problem -- host: how does that work as far as -- plus you are mixing vaccines. how did you do that? caller: i had no reaction from the first two pfizers. and -- listen. public health is not a personal, in my opinion, public health is not a personal idea. public health is for the betterment of the public. host: ok. we will hear from linda in florida. good morning. caller: good morning. host: hi. caller: yes.

i went for testing often and was negative. there were so many cases around me that i decided to get the shot, so i got the moderna. 10 days later, i thought i had the flu and i went to the immediate care, and she tested me and i was positive for the covid. and then i was sent up to the clinic about 30 miles away to get the other shot, the mono shot, and the stomach and under the arm. and i drove myself. i did let anyone get around me. i wanted to stay away from everyone. then i became very, very ill to the point i nearly died in my own home. my someone come to the door to bring me some needs like food, but i had no appetite. i didn't want to drink anything, but i was so thirsty in my mouth that i had to sip on water, which just went straight through

me, and then i realized that i need to eat, so i took bites even though i didn't want to. it was horrible. i felt like -- i didn't have any fever. i was dehydrated. i went to the mirror and felt like i was 10 years older than i -- i looked 10 years older than i was. i was so sick that i don't how to explain it except that it was like hell honored. -- hell on earth. host: you traveled 30 miles to receive a treatment? why so long of a distance? caller: that treatment was -- a new clinic had set up in florida. without that, if i had lived in florida, i think i would have died, because -- and i wouldn't go to the hospital because i have one of those instruments for my breathing and i was

almost to the limit. but because i could still breathe fairly decently, i didn't go. my body was dehydrating and would not accept fluids. until eight food. knowing about this, i knew i had to eat some bread and healthy food often. then i started collecting water again and might mean started filling up. -- and my veins started filling up. you could not put a needle in my arm at that point. i thought it would kill me. my son, i did not think he would survive. i did not think i would survive either. i had one shot and another 10 days later. i nearly died. i was sick for a month, maybe two months before i started going out. now i am afraid to take the shot. that is where i am at. host: so you pad --

-- so you've had --what scares you? caller: the first shot, i may be died 10 days later with a case of the virus that almost killed me. host: ok. let's go to sheila in oklahoma. purcell, oklahoma. hi. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am 73 and i am a diabetic. in last june -- and last june, my throat felt scratchy. it felt different. so i thought, i am going to go get the covid test. now, i don't mind other than just my throat. my son is a doctor so i went up to his office and i did test positive.

and also, i think it is a transfusion, or whatever they do, my son set up an appointment for me to go get that, and about three days later, i was to go get that. in the meantime, i went home and i gargled with -- mouthwash. it kills 99%, you know, of your germs. and i hit my throat with that probably eight or nine times that day. within two days, my throat was ok. and when i had gone to my doctor's clinic, i did not have a fever. so i never felt sick. when i felt like i was over the covid, because i didn't have symptoms, my son had me tested on day five and six, and if you

tested negative both days, then you were ok. host: what type of medicine does your son practice? caller: he's in austin -- he's a doctor. in oklahoma. i had the shots. that was probably almost -- i don't know. a year, the pfizer shot. but anyway, i was lucky. i had such a mild case. i know there's others that have it different because i have heard of people dying. i've had two friends that have died from it, but -- and they were not vaccinated. host: ok. we will hear from cutler in new hampshire. hello. guest: good morning -- caller: good morning. how are you doing?

my experience with covid was last march. my wife and i got the johnson vaccine. and we were doing fine. but then, this christmas, one of the granddaughters texted after christmas that she had covid. so my wife went and got tested and she tested positive. then she wanted me to go get tested so i went over to the v.a. and they said, do you have symptoms? i said no. well, come back if you have symptoms. so then, i called the v.a., and the lady referred me to a mobile unit downtown in manchester, new hampshire, and i went there on thursday, and i didn't have symptoms yet, so i took the test and you had to wait 72 hours for

the results. the results came back on monday that i was ok. but, starting friday, i started getting a runny nose. i had a fever. i had chills. i had diarrhea. and complete fatigue. so i went back to the v.a. and got a test and that said that i was positive, so i am now in quarantine in my house until january 9. my daughter was out of work for 11 days. she just went back. so she had it and my wife has it also and she's struggling with it, so that's been our experience. host: when you say struggling, trouble breathing, other symptoms? how would you describe it if you don't mind? caller: i didn't have any

trouble breathing. host: i was asking about your wife, actually. caller: my wife, no, she's just got a dry cough. it won't go away and she seems to be fatigued. and it has been -- well, she got tested last tuesday, so, i mean, she's had these symptoms a while. i'm on day six right now of mine, and i think i am coming out of the woods because my fever is gone, diarrhea is gone, i don't feel tired, so i think i'm on the mend here. host: can i ask -- you said you got the johnson & johnson vaccine. did you have an option to get others? did you choose that one specifically or was that the only one available where you live? caller: no, i liked it because it was the one shot and it was at new hampshire speedway, where they had a fabulous set up.

it must've been 3000 or 4000 people there over the weekend, and they did them all. i mean, it was amazing. i was scheduled, today, to have the moderna booster at the v.a. and also a doctors appointment. i had to call up and cancel those because i'm in quarantine, so that's been my experience. host: best of health to you and your wife. thank you for sharing that experience. john in idaho, hello. caller: hello there. i got a shot. i got the johnson & johnson one shot. my wife also got that. that was quite a few months back to your we both have had a cough since then. -- back. we both have had a cough since then. i want to know why they are not pushing me monoclonal treatment more. trump showed that it helped him and his family. and all the doctors were

hesitant to use it but they find out now it is something they should be using. host: to your experience with your cough, have you had it checked out? caller: yes, actually prayed i just had checks, x-rays yesterday, and they found nothing wrong. host: you have not been diagnosed with covid, then, you or your wife? caller: no. we have been tested multiple times. host: ok. let's go to tom in new jersey. hello. caller: back in 2019, my wife and i both came down with a deep chest cough and the two of us went to the doctor's office. i did not even go see the doctor. i figured it was a cold. she checked and he said it is the cold. but it was right after that, a week after, i lost my taste.

everything was like eating cardboard, so i lost 30 pounds. i lost my taste. everything was fine otherwise. then about a year later, i went to the doctor for a checkup. my platelets were down in the single digits, so he sent me to a hematologist and the hematologist put me on steroids, heavy doses of steroids, and of course, that brought my taste back and everything else. so it is possible that the two of us had it thin, but it was so early they did not even know at the time. now of course we did get the shot, but as far as bringing my taste back, if it was not for the steroids, i would not have -- i would not have had my taste i guess. host: has your lifestyle changed at all because of your experiences? caller: not really. we did get the two pfizer shots.

right now, there's so much conflict about whether the booster is good, bad or indifferent, so we did not get a booster yet, but so far, no problem at all. host: go ahead. finish your thought. sorry to interrupt. go ahead. are you there? as far as your booster, because of that, are you reconsidering that? will you get it? where are you at? caller: right now, i would say no, but i would not rule it out completely. host: what changes your mind? caller: you keep on listening to the cdc and whatnot and they keep changing the story about you need a booster shot, two booster shots, and three. as far as masks go, i do not wear them unless i absolutely have to i do not think it should be mandated at all, that it is a personal option.

host: one more call from bessie, albany, new york. caller: hello. ok. host: before you start if i may ask, can you turn down your television, please. caller: yes, sir. just a moment. caller: while she has -- host: while she is doing that, again if you listen to a television there is a delay between when we say things here in washington, d.c. and where you hear things on your television, so that sometimes halts the conversation. are you there? bessie? good morning, are you there? she might still be turning down her television. let us try. are you there in albany new york?

go ahead and finish your thought. host: i believe -- caller: i belong to the seventh-day adventist church and i do not eat meat. i had margarine which was a product of meat and had some and it made me terribly sick and i went into the hospital and i still have the band on. i went to the hospital the day after my birthday, the 28th of december, and they let me come home on the 30th because they understood that medication makes me sick. so, now i am home, and as long as the covid is concerned i have a dry mouth and that is practically all. i did not get sick otherwise and i think it was because of the margarine i had eaten and i'm getting rid of that. host: that is bessie in albany, new york. in off this hour t

>> kathy hochul delivers a 2022 state of the state address. watch live today at 1:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, online at c-span.org, or full coverage on c-span now. >> washington unfiltered, c-span in your pocket. download c-span now today. >> attorney general merrick garland gives an update on the justice department's efforts to hold those accountable responsible for the attack on the capital one year ago. watch live coverage at 2:30 p.m. eastern, online at c-span.org, or full coverage on c-span now. >> one year ago protesters broke through police security and occupied the u.s. capitol.

on the one-year anniversary of the january 6 attack we look back on that day, live on c-span beginning at 7:00 a.m. eastern on "washington journal." president joe biden and vice president kamala harris deliver remarks from the capital. 1:00 p.m. eastern, the library of -- librarian of congress leads a discussion on the january 6's place in american history. at 2:30 p.m. eastern lawmakers share their thoughts and reflections. at five: 30 p.m. eastern members of the house and senate -- 5:30 p.m. eastern members of the house and senate meet for a vigil. the anniversary of the january 6 attack live thursday on c-span or watch on the globe -- on the go with our new mobile app or go to c-span.org where you will find a page with all of the programming including archival coverage from the day.