As the pandemic progresses, the virus also changes, and new variants keep emerging. The omicron variant BA.5, which is more contagious than previously dominant variants, is currently rampant. Almost 90 percent of all new infections in Germany are currently due to the subtype. Not only does the virus itself change, the symptoms that those infected have to reckon with also differ from those of previous variants. Data from Great Britain provide indications of which complaints are currently the most common.
Britons have been able to enter their corona symptoms via an app as part of the Zoe Covid Symptom Study since 2020. These are collected and evaluated by the research team. Based on the entries of 17,500 people who tested positive in the second week of July, the most common complaints have now been listed. Tim Spector, the scientist and co-founder of the Zoe study, explained in a YouTube update that these symptoms could not yet be clearly assigned to a corona variant. However, since the majority of infections in Great Britain during this period were infections with BA.5, it is quite likely that the symptoms can also be assigned to this omicron subtype. Most of the symptoms are not really surprising, they are largely known from previous variants. But others are amazed.
Among other things, particularly vivid dreams are reported during the corona disease. These are very intense and often end in nightmares. However, some infected people also experienced what are known as lucid dreams. During this lucid dreaming, the sleeper is aware that he is dreaming and can even influence the plot. In addition to this phenomenon, night sweats as well as tiredness and exhaustion were increasingly an issue.
Sore throat (58 percent) is still the most common corona symptom. This has not changed with BA.5 either. Headaches (49 percent) and stuffy nose (40 percent) are also among the most likely complaints. But coughing, with and without phlegm, was also frequently mentioned, as well as hoarseness, sneezing and a runny nose.
In addition, the incubation period for BA.5 seems to be shorter than for Alpha, for example. Increasingly, symptoms are reported as early as a day or two after infection. It is also known that BA.5 is more infectious than previous variants. The probability of becoming infected with the virus is therefore very high - even for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered. In a Twitter status update, Maria Van Kerkhove, epidemiologist at the World Health Organization (WHO), attributed the current dominance of BA.5 primarily to the fact that many people are currently meeting again without adhering to mask or distance rules. And not only that the number of infections is increasing, as are the deaths. As before, those who are not well protected are primarily affected, for example because they are not or not fully vaccinated. The director of the clinic for intensive care at the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Stefan Kluge, also reports on Twitter that "unfortunately, risk patients with only incomplete Sars-CoV-2 vaccination" have to be admitted to the intensive care unit. Most recently, a 90-year-old with Covid-19 who had only been vaccinated once. "These vaccination gaps should now be closed," wrote Kluge. By September 30th, anyone who has received two corona vaccinations or one plus infection that has survived is considered fully vaccinated. From October, however, three doses of vaccine or two plus an infection that has been overcome are necessary for complete vaccination protection.
Quelle: ZOE Health Study, BBC, Youtube, Twitter
