When the world began to think that the coronavirus pandemic was nearing its end, the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants are once again raising infections and covid-19 hospitalizations are growing again around the world.
BA.5, which has been shown to be especially good at evading the immune protection offered by vaccination or previous infection, has been driving a surge in new infections around the world.
On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the BA.5 subvariant of omicron accounted for 77.9% of coronavirus cases in the United States in the week ending June 16. July.
The BA.4 subvariant made up 12.8% of cases in the United States, according to the data.
The US health regulator has asked vaccine makers to target those variants for a possible booster dose in the fall season.
US health officials are also urging people 50 and older to get the booster shot, adding that doing so would not prevent them from receiving another “bivalent” booster designed to more specifically fend off omicron later this year.
What are the symptoms of the new variants
Although they are not more severe than other variants, “we know that they are more transmissible and have a greater ability to evade immunity,” added CDC director Rochelle Walensky, at a press conference.
The CDC points out on its website that the symptoms generated by covid with these new variants do not vary much compared to those that occur with regular disease.
The body asks to be attentive to the following symptoms.
•Fever or chills
•Cough
• Difficulty breathing (feeling short of breath)
•Fatigue
•Muscle and body aches
•Headache
•Recent loss of smell or taste
•Throat pain
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
•Diarrhea
Vaccination status against covid-19, other conditions, age and history of previous infection can affect the presence and severity of symptoms.
However, according to pre-published information, i.e. research that has not yet been peer-reviewed, people who retry Covid with the BA.5 subvariant may experience the following effects.
•Lung and heart problems
•Fatigue
• Digestive and kidney disorders,
•Diabetes
•And neurological problems after each reinfection, symptoms that could last for at least six months.
How many days does covid last in the body?
Although the World Health Organization estimated that symptoms take between two days and two weeks to appear in cases of infections with the first strain of the coronavirus, it is believed that the omicron variant incubates much faster, taking between three and five days.
“A recent analysis by the UK Health Security Agency suggests that the period between infection and the ability to infect could be shorter in the omicron variant than in the delta variant,” the then minister told parliament on 6 December. of health of the United Kingdom, Sajid Javid.
In a paper on an outbreak at a restaurant in Oslo, Norway, scientists noted that symptoms appeared three days after the event.
The duration of the disease currently, according to scientific analysis, is set at about seven days. The rhythm of the disease is also marked by the duration of the symptoms, which depend on the immunization status, previous pathologies, age, among other factors.
When do I stop spreading?
It is known that people tend to be more contagious early in their infection. With omicron, it is believed that the virus can be transmitted one to two days before the onset of symptoms and two to three days afterward.
With information from AFP and Reuters
