The omicron variant of the novel coronavirus has started to spread throughout the United States, raising concern among health experts that not everyone will identify their infection.
Professor Tim Spector, who helps run the ZOE COVID symptoms app and study, recently said testing has become more important with the omicron variant because it does not create symptoms different than those seen in a traditional cold, according to The Independent, a newspaper in the U.K.
- “Omicron is probably more, much more similar to the mild variants we’re seeing in people who have been vaccinated with Delta than anything else,” he said.
- “And so it is going to be producing cold-like symptoms that people won’t recognize as Covid if they just believe the official government advice.”
Does omicron feel like the flu?
Similarly, Christina Marriott, chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health, told The Independent that cold-like symptoms have been a sign of the omicron variant for fully vaccinated people.
- “Growing evidence shows that people who’ve received two doses of the vaccine typically present with less severe symptoms, such as headache, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat and loss of smell.
- “It’s important for people who’ve been fully vaccinated to stay vigilant for cold-like symptoms and get tested if they’re living or working around people who are at greater risk from the disease,” she said.
What are the omicron variant symptoms?
The ZOE COVID Study, which has analyzed thousands of COVID-19 cases, has identified most of the symptoms from when the omicron variant began to rise in the United Kingdom, as I wrote about for the Deseret News.
Per CNBC, the top symptoms so far include:
- Runny nose.
- Headache.
- Fatigue (either mild or severe).
- Sneezing.
- Sore throat.