The omicron variant can cause a lot of confusion this winter season because colds and flu are on the rise, as the new strain causes symptoms similar to those of the other two conditions.
If before Omicron came into our lives, people could have been relaxed when experiencing symptoms typical of mild allergies or mild colds, now with the new version around, there is a growing concern that the symptoms may indicate Corona infection. To date, the five leading symptoms of the omicron strain are: runny nose, headache, fatigue (mild or severe), sneezing and sore throat.
The chief epidemiologist for infectious diseases at the University of Chicago, Emily Landon, told the New York Post that making risk-based risk assessments would be much more difficult to perform because omicron symptoms can be mistaken for colds or flu. Landon further said that many people can jump to wrong conclusions because they will think that “their symptoms only fit into the category of the common cold, not the corona virus”.
This coming winter will be dominated by the Omicron version after health experts confirmed that the variant has taken over the Delta version in the US and here in Israel within a few weeks since it was first identified in South Africa. 19.
- Is there another “lying guy”? This is probably what will prevent Mucci Cohen from entering politics
Experts fear that the public, especially the vaccinated, may think they are simply suffering from a cold because of a false sense of security in front of the omicron, which according to recent studies causes a mild illness. Although considered highly contagious, the new version causes milder disease than the other strains based on preliminary studies from South Africa and the UK.
At the same time, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that according to a preliminary study, rapid antigen tests may be less sensitive in identifying the omicron variant. The FDA has not for the time being instructed to stop using antigen tests, but has advised people who get a negative result on an antigen test but feel disease symptoms to go and get tested on a PCR test as well.
“The reason to be tested now is for your peace of mind, but an even more important reason is if you are going to a meeting and there are vulnerable people. If you are going to reach that kind of gathering, it is not just about you, but protecting the people around you,” experts said.
.