New Omicron symptom: Can't sleep at night? Maybe, it's COVID. Details here
Premium- In the UK, many COVID-infected individuals are complaining of night sweats
In the last two-and-a-half years, we have seen several COVID variants emerge, and with new variants came new symptoms. In the early COVID days, the classic symptoms included fever, loss of sense of smell and taste, shortness of breath. But as new variants came to light and the rate of vaccination rose, people started reporting newer symptoms. For example, at present, a COVID-infected individual is more likely to report gut-related symptoms than loss of smell. The most commonly retorted symptoms today include sore throat, sneezing persistent cough, and headache. And now, many are complaining of a symptom that was never linked to COVID before.
What is the new COVID symptom?
In the UK, which is seeing a sharp rise in COVID cases led by the Omicron BA.5 variant, people are complaining of night sweats. “One extra symptom from BA.5 I saw this morning is night sweats," Professor Luke O’Neill from Trinity College Dublin told an Irish radio station earlier this week, the Independent reported.
Responding to the query that why people are seeing new symptoms, Prof O’Neill said, “The disease is slightly different because the virus has changed."
He added, “There is some immunity to it - obviously with the T-cells and so on - and that mix of your immune system and the virus being slightly different might give rise to a slightly different diease, strangely enough night sweats being a feature.
“But very importantly, if you are vaccinated and you’re boosted, it doesn’t progress into severe disease is the message to keep reminding people."
What do we know about COVID variant Omicron BA.5?
BA.5 was first discovered in South Africa in February, one month after BA.4 was identified in the same country. Both have since spread around the world and sparked concern over a resurgence of Covid infections. It is now fueling a fresh increase in infections, with cases climbing across the UK and the continent. It is also one of the two variants that are dominant in the US.
However, a new study published in Nature has revealed that is four times more resistant to Covid-19 vaccines. This means, those yet to be vaccinated against Covid-19 have about a five times higher chance of contracting the virus compared to those who are vaccinated and boosted, while chances of hospitalisation are 7.5 times higher, and chances of death are 14 to 15 times higher
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