Jessy Mendiola reveals contracting COVID-19 five months into pregnancy
Mom-to-be Jessy Mendiola contracted COVID-19 five months and three weeks into her pregnancy. While the actress experienced mild symptoms, she found herself in tears and fearful of her baby's condition.
Jessy and her husband Luis Manzano are expecting a baby girl, who they fondly call "Peanut." In her YouTube vlog last Sept. 15, the 29-year-old actress revealed that her sickness lasted for 10 days.
"Kapag nagtatrabaho tayong lahat, hindi talaga maiiwasan na talaga mae-expose ka. Hindi ko lang akalain [na] magti-three years na 'yung COVID, magti-three years na 'yung pandemic, never ako nag-positive, ngayon lang talaga," Jessy said.
"Actually naiyak ako nun kay Howhow (Luis) kasi syempre si Peanut talaga yung iniisip ko," she continued.
On the first day of her COVID-19 journey on Sept. 2, Jessy experienced colds, sore throat, cough, and headache, which were all at a mild level. "That's it," she said. "I can still move, I can still walk properly."
The actress also revealed taking a couple of anti-gen tests to verify if she's positive for COVID-19. "So positive ako sa PCR [test], negative sa antigen. Then just a few hours after, positive na ako," she said.
"May nagasabi nga sa akin before, 'You're only as good as your last test.' If you tested negative now, it doesn't mean na you won't get infected anymore or after a few hours, so you have to be careful talaga," she added.
She said that her illness worsened the following day and she began getting body pains. This, on top of being worried for her baby. "Medyo naiiyak ako," Jessy said in tears. "Kung ako lang 'to, rock and roll lang ako e. But I have a baby inside of me, inside my womb."
Jessy also showed in her vlog that Luis was initially with her in the isolation room. Luis said that he could isolate himself if he wanted to but he didn't because he wanted to be with Jessy and her child. He added that he has had many vaccines, if the virus hits him, it will probably be mild.
“I should be at work tomorrow but, of course, safety first for howhow (Jessy) so I can watch over them and at the same time, for work," Luis said.
Despite it all, Jessy couldn't be more grateful that she generally experienced mild symptoms throughout her COVID-19 journey. And, according to her, this is where taking a COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots play a big part.
"Ang laki ng naitulong sa akin ng vaccine. Naka-four shots na ako ng vaccine before pa ako nabuntis. Hindi naman ibig sabihin non, na kapag naka-four shots ka na ng vaccine ay superhero ka na or hindi ka na mahahawa," she said. "Of course mahahawa ka pa rin, but malaki 'yung bawas na ma-hospitalize ka, or death, or severe ang symptoms mo. Dahil vaccinated ako, boosted ako, very mild lang ang symptoms ko."
The expectant mom also said that her fellow soon-to-be mommas will surely relate to the challenges she faced as a woman carrying a child.
"I want to spread awareness that COVID-19 is still very much around. Even if protocols are easing up and there already is a mandate allowing people not to wear masks outdoors… I hope we still protect each other in our own little ways,” Jessy said.
