Australians have been experiencing a “super cold” in recent days as COVID-19 restrictions have loosened up.
Driving the news: People across Australia have been getting sick with symptoms similar to COVID-19, but medical experts have been clear that the cold is different from the coronavirus, per Medical News Today.
- There’s some thought that the “super cold” may be a combination of many different viruses impacting Australians’ immune systems, which have been well-protected throughout the recent Australian lockdowns, according to 7 News Australia.
What they’re saying: “Some of what we may feel are ‘super colds’ might just be normal colds that we’ve simply forgotten to recognize because Australia had successfully kept them at bay during the pandemic,” Dr. Ian Mackay, a professor at the University of Queensland, Australia, told Medical News Today.
Symptoms: Since the “super cold” has been described as COVID-like, many of the symptoms are likely “body aches, extreme exhaustion, fever and headaches,” according to 7 News Australia.
- People with the “super cold” won’t experience loss of taste or smell, though, per News.com, a prominent news organization based in Australia.
Flashback: A similar “super cold” was reported back in November 2021 as COVID-19 restrictions loosened up in the United Kingdom, per The Scotsman.
The bottom line: “By having that two years out, now when we see the virus, we’re getting potentially sicker than we might have been if we had been exposed to it on a frequent basis,” Dr. Charlotte Hespe, head of general practice at the University of Notre Dame, told 7 News recently.
- “The big thing to remember is that they’re not viruses that cause you to go into hospital by-and-large.”