NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — We’ve grown all too familiar with the symptoms of COVID-19, but the omicron variant may have different symptoms than past variants of the virus.
Common symptoms of those with COVID include fever, cough, sore throat, and loss of taste and/or smell. But doctors are finding symptoms of the omicron variant are showing up in younger people and presenting a little differently.
“Doctors in South Africa have noticed that patients are presenting with severe fatigue but not with loss of taste or smell,” explained Dr. Lauren Ferrante of Yale Medicine. “So far, omicron patients seem to have less severe disease, but we’ll have to see if that trend continues because many of the South African patients are young.”
There are over 200 cases of the omicron variant across the world so far. Six Connecticut labs are prepared to test for it. Officials say it could be more transmissible than other variants but they say it will run a mild course on people who are vaccinated and boosted.
Dr. Ferrante said the delta variant is still the biggest threat in this country. She added, the most important thing people in Connecticut can do to protect themselves is to get vaccinated and boosted if they can. The CDC is now recommending boosters for all adults.
Dr. Ferrante said scientists think vaccines will still protect against severe disease, even when it comes to omicron.
More travel restrictions could be put in place as we get closer to Christmas. If you plan to travel for the holidays, she recommends getting travel insurance, especially if you’re heading to Europe.