Since June, monthly government surveys in the U.K. More data on the topic are expected in the coming weeks.
Night sweats, another symptom cited by a doctor at a media briefing in South Africa early in the country's Omicron wave, has been touted by tabloids as "a telltale sign which only happens at night that could mean you have been hit by the Omicron variant." However, the symptom is not new - some nine in 10 patients in one report from Wuhan, China from February 2020 listed the symptom.Īn analysis of cases in London last month "found no clear difference in the symptom profile of Delta and Omicron, with only 50% of people experiencing the classic three symptoms of fever, cough, or loss of sense of smell or taste," said a post from the ZOE COVID Study, which has tracked trends in previous variants too. In November, one study estimated that as many as 1.6 million Americans were facing long-term "chronic olfactory dysfunction" following their infection. However, estimates of how many cases actually result in the symptom have ranged widely over the course of the pandemic and between different parts of the world. Instead, scientists will need to sort out how Omicron may have shifted the odds of some symptoms compared to others.įor example, loss of smell or taste - called "anosmia" and "ageusia," respectively, by doctors - emerged early during the pandemic as a telltale sign of COVID-19. While the frequency of some symptoms may have changed with Omicron, doctors say there is no evidence of significantly different or new symptoms that have not been seen in previous COVID-19 cases. "These findings strongly suggest that Omicron has a much higher rate of asymptomatic carriage than other and this high prevalence of asymptomatic infection is likely a major factor in the widespread, rapid dissemination of the variant globally," the study's authors wrote. One study of health care workers in South Africa, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found the rate of people carrying the disease without symptoms had climbed from 2.6% during the Beta and Delta variant outbreaks to 16% with Omicron. Scientists caution that Omicron's rapid ascent may be fueled in large part by more people spreading the virus with no symptoms at all. is on track to exceed the Delta variant's worst days of hospitalizations and deaths due to the sheer numbers of people who may catch the fast-spreading strain. A consortium of disease forecasters warned Tuesday that the U.S. The incubation period in both outbreaks also averaged around three days, shorter than the four to five days seen with the Delta variant.ĭespite signs that Omicron leads to a lower individual risk of severe illness, it's so contagious that hospitals are struggling to handle the growing caseload. One additional unvaccinated person, who had not been previously diagnosed with COVID-19, reported "cough, joint pain, congestion, fever, and chills." In an Omicron outbreak between five reinfected people in a Nebraska household, a recent report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found none had reported loss of taste or smell - compared to four during their first bout of COVID-19 in 2020.
Only 12% reported reduced smell and 23% reported reduced taste. One analysis of data compiled from reports of positive cases in London, where Omicron cases surged last month, tallied the top five symptoms as runny nose, headache, fatigue, sneezing, and sore throat.Īmong mostly vaccinated people infected at a Christmas party in Norway, cough and runny nose showed up in more than three-quarters of the 81 cases.
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