As COVID-19 cases are continuing to rise in some parts of the country with the omicron BA.2 subvariant, it's possible that some people may have gotten sick without realizing because the symptoms are slightly different and could be confused with a normal cold or allergies.
The omicron BA.2 subvariant accounted for 85.9% of new cases in the United States as of April 9, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were 10,662 new cases in the U.S. on April 17 with a 7-day average of 37,619 new cases, a 39% increase over the last 14 days, according to The New York Times.
When someone thinks they may have gotten COVID, they are often expecting to lose their sense of smell or taste, but the symptoms that are associated with omicron BA.2 subvariant aren't necessarily the same as other variants. Here are some of the strange symptoms that could show you have already had the omicron BA.2 subvariant.
If you recently had normal cold-like symptoms, including a sore throat or sinus congestion, then it's possible that you could've had COVID.
"People tend to have more sore throats. They may have sinus congestion and headaches," Dr. Clay Marsh said, according to WV News. "But at least in South Africa, where we really documented the Omicron variant the most completely, about 40% or so of those infections were relatively asymptomatic."
"These are less specific -- Delta gave you a loss of smell, loss of taste, and maybe more respiratory problems," Marsh added.
Dr. Cristina Menni, from King's College London, told ZOE that "we are moving even further away" from the average patient's symptoms in the United Kingdom being the usual fever or loss of smell with the subvariant.
"We observe a different clinical presentation of symptoms in those infected with Omicron compared to Delta," Dr. Menni said. "As we are moving even further away from the average patient having U.K. government 'approved symptoms,' i.e. fever, persistent cough, loss of smell, our results point to a different selection of symptoms that may indicate infection. To protect others, it is still important to self-isolate for 5 days as soon as you see any symptoms."
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The ZOE COVID Study app also showed that symptoms lasted a shorter period of time with omicron than delta -- 6.87 days vs. 8.89 days. The study's research also said that a sore throat or hoarse voice were more prevalent in Omicron than Delta.
Omicron BA.2 symptoms also did not last as long in people who are vaccinated compared to those unvaccinated, according to the study.
However, the good news is that most vaccinated infections are mild, with symptoms lasting on average for a shorter time overall than Delta and with less severe cases," Professor Tim Spector, lead scientist on the ZOE COVID Study app, said on Jan. 27.
Dennis Cunningham, M.D., System Medical Director of Infection Control and Prevention at Henry Ford Health, said on March 29 that symptoms from the BA.2 subvariant should remain mild for most people, consisting of headaches, sore throat, and body aches.
"I do think it’s possible we’ll have an increased number of cases," Dr. Cunningham said, according to Henry Ford Health. "I do not think it's going to be as bad as the other surges we've had. Between the vaccines and the number of people already infected with COVID previously, especially in the past few months, I expect most people will either have no symptoms or very mild symptoms."
He went on to explain how the virus can continue to mutate, creating the possibility of new variants that could be more harmful. Dr. Cunningham recommended that the best way to be protected against COVID and any variants is to get the vaccine and booster, especially if you are over the age of 50.
"Booster doses are certainly helpful," Dr. Cunningham said. "I would encourage people 50 and older to get that (first) booster dose if they haven't already and that second booster dose if you're eligible. We do know that people over 50 are most likely to wind up in the hospital or have serious complications. To me, getting a vaccine is a small price to pay for that."
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