Maybe it's strep? That does still exist. I had it in April and felt like I had swallowed broken glass for a week (had a fever of 102.5 for a day too). My mother kept telling me to get tested for Covid, but I knew it was strep based on the severity of the sore throat. Wouldn't go to the doctor, took some fish amoxicillin and bird azithromycin (same stuff as humans take) and got better in a few days after starting the antibiotics.