What are the symptoms of COVID?
The NHS (National Health Services) now lists the following as official COVID symptoms:
1. High temperature or shivering (chills) – a high temperature means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
2. New, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
3. Loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
4. Shortness of breath
5. Feeling tired or exhausted
6. Aching body
7. Headache
8. Sore throat
9. Blocked or runny nose
10. Loss of appetite
11. Diarrhea
12. Feeling sick or being sick
COVID-19 vs. Allergies Symptoms Chart: How To Tell The Difference, According To CDC:
The common symptoms people with the coronavirus and those experiencing allergies share are cough, headaches and tiredness. Symptoms such as body aches, loss of taste or smell as well as fever or chills are usually linked to COVID-19. Shortness of breath, another common coronavirus symptom, is less likely to be caused by allergies.
Symptoms commonly associated with allergies are sore throat and runny or stuffy nose, but people with COVID-19 can still experience them. COVID-19 is also less likely to cause sneezing and itchy or watery eyes, which are common allergies symptoms
While those with seasonal allergies are not at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 or experiencing more severe symptoms due to the virus, those with moderate to severe asthma could be at increased risk of hospitalization due to the coronavirus.
AS THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has progressed, we’ve repeatedly seen the arrival of new viral variants. Variants of concern, such as Delta and Omicron, are versions of SARS-CoV-2 (the original variant that causes COVID-19), which have acquired mutations. These mutations can provide SARS-CoV-2 with a genetic advantage. For example, Delta is linked to more serious illness than the original variant, while Omicron is more infectious.
Now we are seeing recombinant variants such as Omicron XE. These are not variants that have picked up a few mutations. Instead, they are ones containing a combination of genetic material from multiple variants, producing a new version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
When viruses replicate, they sometimes make mistakes in their genetic code leading to individual mutations. Often, these mutations don’t result in any change to the structure of the virus — termed “silent mutations.” Some mutations, however, can confer an advantage. For example, mutations that occur in the spike protein (the part of the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for infecting our cells) can make the virus more transmissible than previous variants. We’ve seen repeated mutations in the spike protein-producing variants of concern.
Recombination is a different process whereby two different variants infect the same cell, in the same person, at the same time. From there, they can combine their genetic material, resulting in a virus that possesses a mix of genes from both infecting “parent” viruses. This recombinant variant may then spread to other people — as has been the case with Omicron XE.
The genetic recombination of viruses is not a new phenomenon. It occurs regularly with viruses such as influenza and HIV. Indeed, one of the proposed origins of the original SARS-CoV-2 virus is from a recombination event in bats.
Reassuringly, we know that BA.2 is no more severe than BA.1, and that Omicron variants overall tend to cause less severe disease than previous SARS-CoV-2 variants. But they are highly infectious.
The need for updated vaccines is becoming ever-pressing since all current vaccines are based on the original Wuhan strain. Data has shown that the more changes in the spike protein subsequent variants have acquired, the less effective our current vaccines are at preventing infection. That said, vaccines are still very effective at preventing severe disease or death from COVID-19.
Two New Highly Transmissible South African Omicron Subvariants Detected in U.S: Data released last month shows nearly 60 percent of people in the U.S. have already been infected with Omicron or another COVID variant, including three in four children. In December, the CDC reported about one-third of the country’s population had caught COVID, prior to the emergence of these subvariants.
First identified in South Africa, BA.4 and BA.5 were initially recorded on Jan. 10 and Feb. 26, respectively, but have only recently caused a dramatic spike in cases in their country of origin. Abdool Karim, public health expert at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He states that the impact of the new subvariants have led to a slight rise in hospitalizations and no increase in deaths. There have only been 10 recorded cases of BA.4 and four cases of BA.5 in the United States, but that number is likely to rise given the highly transmissible nature of the virus. It is unsure if the new subvariants will take hold in the U.S. like they have in South Africa, where they’re causing a probable new wave,
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement that due to people getting vaccinated and boosted, as well as prior infection, she believes there is “a lot of protection” in the country, adding that “we cannot underscore enough, those who have detectable antibodies from infection, we still encourage them to get vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control released a list of 14 states where the virus had been identified. The earliest sample of BA.4 in the U.S. was collected on March 30, and the earliest sample of BA.5 in the U.S. was collected March 29. Locations where probable cases of BA.4 have been identified, according to the CDC: 2 in California, 1 in the District of Columbia, 1 in Maine, 1 in Massachusetts, 2 in New Hampshire, 1 in New York, 2 in Ohio, 2 in Pennsylvania, 1 in Texas: Locations where probable cases of BA.5 have been identified, according to the CDC: 1 in California, 1 in Illinois, 1 in Michigan, 1 in Missouri, 2 in North Carolina, 1 in Oklahoma
New preliminary data helps explain why cases are once again surging—the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants can evade neutralizing antibodies generated by infections from BA.1. For the study, led by virologist Alex Sigal of the Africa Health Research Institute, researchers pitted neutralization antibodies from people infected with BA.1 up against BA.4 and BA.5 in a lab. They had samples from 24 unvaccinated people infected with BA.1 and 15 vaccinated people who had also had a BA.1 infection (eight people were vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and seven had the Johnson & Johnson vaccine).
For the unvaccinated people, neutralizing antibody levels were 7.6-fold and 7.5-fold lower against BA.4 and BA.5, respectively, compared with levels against BA.1. In vaccinated people, the drop was shorter: 3.6-fold and 2.6-fold lower against BA.4 and BA.5, respectively.
These findings suggest that the latest Omicron subvariants can thwart protection generated from earlier omicron versions. Vaccination appears to dull the subvariants' edge, however. Overall neutralization levels against BA.4 and BA.5 were five-fold higher in vaccinated people compared to those who were unvaccinated.
Until next time Stay Safe and Stay Healthy.
James A Vito, D.M.D.