The BA.2 subvariant of the coronavirus has become the dominant strain of the novel coronavirus across the United States, leading to doctors seeing new patients with a number of COVID-19 symptoms.
Driving the news: Dr. Erica Johnson, an internal medicine physician at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, told HuffPost that she has seen patients with familiar COVID-19 symptoms.
What she said: “So far what we’re seeing is really similar to the original omicron variant in terms of symptoms and in terms of severity,” she told HuffPost.
Symptoms: The typical omicron variant symptoms resemble the common cold or the flu. Here’s a breakdown of the most common omicron variant symptoms:
- Runny nose
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Sneezing
- Sore throat
- Persistent cough
- Hoarse voice
- Chills or shivers
- Fever
- Dizziness
- Brain fog
- Muscle pains
- Loss of smell
- Chest pain
Yes, but: Dr. Jennifer Lighter, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at NYU Langone Health in New York, told HuffPost she saw more patients with upper respiratory symptoms from BA.2 — like coughing, runny nose and sore throats — compared to earlier strains of the coronavirus.