Omicron symptoms: What we know about illness caused by the new variant.
Symptoms of omicron may be different than those of previous strains. But it's still Covid, and it can still cause severe disease.
Though much remains unknown about omicron, experts are beginning to understand more about the variant and how it affects people who are vaccinated, unvaccinated or who have had a previous Covid infection. For example, people who are exposed to omicron appear to get sick faster and may have symptoms that are different than those of other variants.
What's more, they may only reflect certain segments of the population: young and otherwise healthy, as well as those who are fully vaccinated., omicron tends to produce milder infections," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
"Usually patients with acute bronchitis tend not to be short of breath. They tend to cough and produce sputum," he said."Patients with pneumonia tend to be short of breath and feel more fatigued than bronchitis in general." While much more research is needed, it makes scientific sense that a highly contagious virus like the omicron variant would have a shorter incubation period. Its goal, after all, is to infect as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.
For the millions of people without any known Covid exposure, but who are getting together with friends and family over the Christmas holiday, Schaffner said, it would be prudent to get a rapid test the day of the gathering."By all means, go the extra step, go the extra mile to get tested" to alleviate any concerns about gatherings, he said on NBC's"TODAY" show Tuesday.
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