That happened to a lot of people. The first wave in March wasn't very big compared to later months.
You mentioned the flu season didn't happen in a different post, but that was much later, as was most masking.
> Which to me seems to be a far more outrageous claim than the one that I was simply one of many.
That's a terrible way to analyze this. You were "one of many" either way.
> but I've yet to hear of some surprise viral disease that ran in parallel to this, isn't COVID but matches the symptoms so well.
The symptoms aren't all that unique for a severe illness that messes up your lungs. There's no 'surprise' involved in other possible causes.
there is a real opportunity now for medical science to look comparatively at infectious diseases and attack them systematically and cohesively rather than myopically. hopefully we don’t squander that.
So unless you are going to go out on a limb to suggest a better alternative I suggest you leave well alone.
Consider the alternative: you would have to come up with some kind of viral agent that did the same thing but wasn't COVID.
Which to me seems to be a far more outrageous claim than the one that I was simply one of many. The test does not make the disease, it is merely positive confirmation, but I've yet to hear of some surprise viral disease that ran in parallel to this, isn't COVID but matches the symptoms so well.