Sadiq Khan warns 'things only going to get worse' with Omicron
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
As we all try to take a respite from the pandemic with our loved ones; the Omicron variant continues to spread.
We’ve had some good news recently, that Omicron could be up to 70 percent less severe than Delta.
Yet, the cases continue to rise, and with millions of people in the UK still unvaccinated, the numbers of hospitalisations will rise further over the coming weeks.
With a greater number of hospitalisations, comes more pressure on the NHS and the more pressure on the NHS, the greater the risk of a national lockdown.
However, whilst Omicron is spreading, we are learning.
Every week we are learning more and more about Omicron.
We are learning about its transmissibility, its severity, and its symptoms.
Or lack of symptoms in this case.
When the pandemic first began in 2020 there were two main symptoms:
• Dry cough
• Loss of smell and taste
Now, according to new evidence from the United States, one of those is gone.
According to Dr Katherine Poehling of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in North Carolina, more and more people are not experiencing a loss of taste and smell as symptoms of COVID-19.
This is part of a trend where we are seeing Omicron stand out from previous variants in having a much different array of symptoms.
Some research from the COVID ZOE App, developed by King’s College London shows that the symptoms of Omicron are very similar to that of the common cold.
This is why at home testing will be crucial this winter; to stop people spreading Omicron when they think all they have is a cold.
It’s not only testing that’s crucial; so is getting the booster vaccine.
Whilst having two doses gives you negligible protection, the booster increases your protection 25-fold according to Pfizer.
However, with so many people unvaccinated, we are not out of the woods yet.
Source: Read Full Article