Long COVID could be half of Omicron vs. Delta-Consumer Health News

Monday, June 20, 2022 (HealthDay News)-Omicron variants are unlikely to give longer COVIDs than previous strains, UK researchers say.

Described as First peer-reviewed report To investigate the risk of persistent symptoms in Omicron and patients, it was found that 4.4% of Omicron cases resulted in long COVID. This is well below the nearly 11% associated with the delta variant, which was the predominant strain of SARS-CoV-2 in the early stages of the pandemic, the researchers said.

However, they added that more people are infected with Omicron because the variants of Omicron are much more contagious than Delta, and therefore more people experience long COVIDs.

Claire Steves, Principal Investigator at King’s College London, said:

Long COVID According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it includes a variety of symptoms that can last for weeks, months, or even years, affecting a person’s quality of life. Symptoms may disappear or relapse.

Fatigue, fever, malaise, dyspnea, cough, chest pain, palpitation, dizziness, etc. People can also experience foggy thoughts, depression, anxiety, headaches, sleep problems, and even loss of smell and taste. Diarrhea, abdominal pain, muscle aches, rashes, and changes in the menstrual cycle are also possible.

For research, Steves and her colleagues are based in the United Kingdom ZOECOVID Symptoms A research app for collecting data on 56,000 people infected with Omicron distortion.They were compared to more than 41,000 infected people delta distortion.

CONCLUSIONS: The probability of longer COVID was 20% to 50% lower for Omicron than for Delta. The odds depended on the patient’s age and time from vaccination.

Dr. Marc Siegel, an infectious disease expert and clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, said long COVIDs are probably more common than realization.

“”[Omicron] It doesn’t cause that deep lung infection, but it’s also true that there is some immune protection from vaccines and previous infections, “he said.

As a result, if the case is not so serious, the COVID will not be that long, said Siegel, who reviewed the findings.

“It’s my personal experience,” he said. “In my practice, I no longer see people who have lost their smell or taste.”

Still, Siegel predicts that COVID can be a permanent part of the landscape, like the flu.

“We are still looking at illnesses and hospitalizations, but now we are seeing far more illnesses than hospitalizations,” he said. “I think that’s where we’re heading for this. I’m not sure, but I think we’re heading for a semi-permanent stage of persistent illness, but it’s not that serious.”

He emphasized that having a COVID does not mean that he will never receive it, as immunity from the infection appears to be short-lived. Vaccinated, according to Siegel, may be less severe than not, but it could lead to breakthrough cases.

“Don’t rely on previous infections to fully protect you, and don’t rely on vaccines to fully protect you, but get as much immunity as you can.” He said.

According to Siegel, he is relieved to know that Omicron appears to be less likely to cause long-term symptoms.

“Note that Omicron rarely causes long-term symptoms, but is not zero,” he emphasized. “We still need to be aware and careful about this virus.”

The new findings were published online on June 18th. Lancet..

For more information

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Long COVID..

Source: Dr. Claire Steves, Senior Clinical Lecturer at King’s College London, UK. Marc Siegel, MD, Clinical Professor, Medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York City. LancetJune 18, 2022, online