Nearly five million Britons are believed to have symptomatic Covid in the UK right now, the latest data from the ZOE health study suggest. The ZOE study has been collecting data on the general population throughout the pandemic. This resurgence of infections, driven by Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, is providing a lot of data on the evolution of the symptom profile.
According to Professor Spector, who heads the ZOE health study, “twice as many cases of covid as of common colds today; the proportion has never been so high.”
Writing on Twitter, he drew attention to the warning signs that can help you distinguish Covid from a common cold.
In general, Britons affected by Covid are more likely to report fatigue, the professor noted.
Everyone feels tired from time to time. But after a good night’s sleep, most people feel refreshed and ready to face a new day.
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In his latest YouTube video, he underlined this advice, suggesting what to do if you detect cold-like symptoms.
Professor Spector said, “Try to get tested if you can. If you can’t get tested, suppose you have a cold and walk away from other people until you feel better.”
The most common cold-like symptoms that have been reported today are:
- Nasal discharge
- A sore throat
- Headache
- Persistent cough
- Mild and severe fatigue.
According to the professor, Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 are behind the latest increase in cases.
These variants are breaking down immune defenses much more effectively than previous variants, he warned.
In addition to evading immune defenses, these strains are also “cushioning” them so you don’t get that inflammation at first to stop it, Professor Spector explained.
It should be noted that this does not make vaccines ineffective.
The current virus may be more transmissible, but it is generally leading to a milder disease and COVID-19 vaccines should be greatly appreciated for this mitigating effect.
In fact, “current vaccines protect against serious illness, hospitalizations, and deaths from infection with the Omicron variant,” the CDC notes.
The vaccines against COVID-19 currently approved for use in the United Kingdom are:
- Modern vaccine
- Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine
- Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine
- Janssen vaccine (currently not available)
- Novavax vaccine (currently not available)
- Vaccine Valneva (currently not available).
“You usually can’t choose which vaccine you have. If you book online, they will only offer you appointments for the vaccines that suit you,” says the NHS.
According to the health agency, most people can get any of the COVID-19 vaccines, but some people are only offered certain vaccines.
For example:
- If you are pregnant or under 40, you will usually be offered appointments for Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.
- If you are under 18, you will only be offered the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.