COVID Threat 'Much Lower' Now ¡ª But These 3 Symptoms Remain, Says Top NYC Doctor
Despite recent warnings regarding a new COVID-19 variant from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cases are noticeably less intense than in previous waves, a top NYC doctor has said.
What are the symptoms of new Covid-19 variant?
"It isn't the same typical symptoms that we were seeing before. It's a lot of congestion, sometimes sneezing, usually a mild sore throat," said Dr. Erick Eiting, vice chair of operations for emergency medicine at Mount Sinai Downtown in New York City.
The sore throat usually arrives first, he said, then congestion.
The Zoe COVID Symptom Study, which collects data on self-reported symptoms in the U.K. through smartphone apps, has documented the same trend. Its findings suggest that a sore throat became more common after the omicron variant grew dominant in late 2021.
Loss of smell, by contrast, became less widespread, and the rate of hospital admissions declined compared to summer and fall 2021,?observed Dr. Grace McComsey of Case Western University.
Doctors now describe a clearer, more consistent pattern of symptoms."Just about everyone who I've seen has had really mild symptoms," Eiting said of his urgent care patients, adding, "The only way that we knew that it was Covid was because we happened to be testing them."
Still, current patients may endure ¡°a burning sensation like they never had, even with strep in the past,¡± according to Dr. McComsey. "Then, as soon as the congestion happens, it seems like the throat gets better," she added.
Both doctors also reported that fewer patients than last year need intense hospital care, per NBC, adding that antiviral pill treatment through Paxlovid and similar alternatives is speeding up recoveries.
When?and where?did it originate?
"Especially since July, when this recent mini-surge started, younger people that have upper respiratory symptoms ¡ª cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever and chills ¡ª 99% of the time they go home with supportive care," said Dr. Michael Daignault, an emergency physician at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California.?
The U.S. is recording around 19,000 Covid hospitalizations per week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The weekly average rose about 80% from early August to the beginning of September.?
As of September 7, 2023,?the total number of patients in intensive care units (ICU) due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) was 1,975, and a total of 17,000 people were admitted to the hospital due to COVID across the US.
Why is COVID milder now?
Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, attributed doctors' mild symptoms to immunity from vaccines and previous infections.
"Overall, the severity of Covid is much lower than it was a year ago and two years ago. That's not because the variants are less robust. It's because the immune responses are higher," Barouch said.
Other doctors think that omicron itself also changed the presentation of Covid symptoms since some studies have shown that early versions of it weren't as good as previous variants at infecting the lungs.
Who needs to go to hospital?
Hospitalisation rates are highest among people ages 75 and up, followed by babies under 6 months and adults ages 65 to 74.
Most people hospitalised for Covid since January had not received a bivalent booster, according to the CDC.Older people, in particular, may have waning immunity if they haven't been infected or vaccinated recently, said Daignault.
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