Hi @josiemc24, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I'm glad you were able to see a rheumatologist. Both occurrences I've had of PMR I was started at 20 mg prednisone and the pain went away within a few hours of taking the first dose. Then it was a tapering process to get off. The first occurrence took me 3-1/2 years to taper off, the second time 1-1/2 years to taper off. Hoping someone else may have had COVID and recovered that can share their experience with you. I've had both Pfizer COVID vaccine shots but have never tested positive for COVID thankfully. The pain symptoms can come back if you try to taper off of prednisone too fast. I've never heard of PMR causing hair loss either but did find this statement in a search...

"Symptoms of polymyalgia rheumatica - Fatigue can be another characteristic symptom. People suffering from this disease have more and more difficulty getting out of bed and starting their daily activities. Other symptoms include: Hair loss that has happened because of a loss of appetite." - Polymyalgia rheumatica (pmr): what is it, symptoms, causes ...: https://www.topdoctors.co.uk/medical-dictionary/polymyalgia-rheumatica-pmr#

Giant Cell Arteritis is a related condition to PMR and one of the symptoms is facial swelling and hair loss - "headache, symptoms of polymyalgia rheumatica, low-grade fever, fever of unknown origin, loss of appetite, depression, joint pains, weight loss, hair loss, and ..."
- Giant cell arteritis presenting as facial swelling - Pub Med: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18926062/

Did your rheumatologist mention anything about Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) or ask about pain around your temples or scalp?