Data from UK
Symptoms, duration of illness, protective measures – what else you should know about Omikron
British researchers count sneezing among the most common omicron symptoms in vaccinated people.
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Study data from Great Britain show that infections with the omicron variant for boosted people are significantly shorter than those with the delta variant. Are mild courses and a shorter duration of illness reason enough to no longer protect yourself from infection?
Even if the number of corona cases is currently declining, the more easily transmissible omicron subtype BA.2 continues to circulate in Germany. The numbers are still high. Getting infected remains likely. Especially since most protective measures are now passé. How long does an infection with omicron last? What symptoms are common? And do we still have to protect ourselves from infection at all? The most important questions and answers.
How long do omicron symptoms last?
How long the infection lasts cannot be predicted and is individual. But researchers have found that fully vaccinated and boosted people with a corona infection with the omicron variant suffer from symptoms on average three days less than with an infection with Delta. In the case of an omicron infection, the risk of losing the sense of smell is also significantly lower than with Delta, according to a British study published in the specialist journal “The Lancet”.
For their investigation, the scientists used the data from the ZOE study, which is based on data from the ZOE app. Britons have been able to use the app to report their corona symptoms for research purposes since August 2020. More than 63,000 vaccinated Brits aged 16 to 99 reported their Covid symptoms between June 2021 and January 2022. In people with a full corona vaccination and a booster dose, the symptoms of an omicron infection lasted an average of 4.4 days. At Delta, however, the symptoms in this group lasted 7.7 days, 3.3 days longer.
In the case of fully vaccinated people without a booster dose, the difference was not quite as great. With omicron infection, this group experienced symptoms for 8.3 days compared to 9.6 days for Delta.
The faster recovery from an omicron infection indicates “that the period of infectivity could be shorter,” the study authors wrote. This would have implications for “workplace health rules and government health guides”. Study author Cristina Menni from London’s King’s College emphasized that this is the first peer-reviewed study with a large number of participants that has dealt with the differences in symptoms depending on the corona variant.
The evaluated data came from a time when the omicron subtype BA.2 did not predominate, as it does today, but the subvariant BA.1. However, recent data from the ZOE app did not indicate any differences between BA.2 and BA.1 in terms of symptoms, Menni told AFP.
Are there different symptoms in vaccinated and unvaccinated people?
With their data, the researchers of the study once again confirmed that the loss of the sense of smell occurs less often with omicron than with previous variants. Only 17 percent of those affected suffered from this symptom. However, the risk of a sore throat was 55 percent higher with Omicron, and a hoarse voice was 24 percent more likely than with Delta, according to the study. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), anyone who has been infected with Omikron usually suffers from a cough, runny nose and sore throat.
The ZOE app researchers also list the most common symptoms reported by Brits during the omicron wave. In general, unvaccinated and vaccinated people would describe similar symptoms, it says there. However, the scientists noticed one difference: people who had been vaccinated twice and who became infected with the corona virus more frequently reported sneezing as a symptom than those who were not vaccinated. The researchers advise: “If you have been vaccinated against the corona virus and suddenly have to sneeze frequently without explanation, you should do a corona test and stay at home as a precaution.” Unvaccinated, single and double vaccinated people give the most common symptoms as headache, sore throat, runny nose, fever and persistent cough. It goes on to say that the symptoms in unvaccinated people are usually more severe than in vaccinated people.
Should I continue to protect myself from Corona?
Experts think little of intentionally becoming infected with Corona. Although there are indications that “hybrid immunity”, i.e. vaccination plus surviving infection, produces the best immune response, in contrast to a vaccination, an infection is less easy to predict, which is why it should be avoided, said immunologist Martina Prelog in an interview with the star. In addition, further studies are needed to find out whether Sars-CoV-2 also produces certain antibodies that can protect people well from Sars-CoV-2 for years. “Infections are also unpleasant for many young and vaccinated people,” said virologist Volker Thiel from the University of Bern to “Zeit”. Although young vaccinated people have a very low risk, nobody knows beforehand whether they are not one of the few who are hit hard by an infection.
Whether a visit to a restaurant, a full stadium or a concert is attended or not – each person will have to weigh up this risk for themselves. Immunologist Carsten Watzl said to “Zeit”: “As a person who has been vaccinated three times and is otherwise immune, you can rely on your immunity.” The risk of becoming seriously ill with Covid-19 is very low. But it’s also important to remember that people who are at high risk of developing severe disease, despite being vaccinated, find it harder to protect themselves when case numbers are high and most protective measures are removed. Another point is Long Covid. Although vaccinated people have a lower risk of these late effects, as study data show, low does not mean that the risk does not exist at all. According to estimates by the WHO, around ten percent suffer from long Covid symptoms such as exhaustion after their corona infection.
Can I get infected more than once with Omikron?
It is possible to become infected multiple times with the same omicron variant, said Martina Prelog.
Sources:The Lancet ZOE study, ZOE data on symptoms, RKI, time, The Lancet Infectious Disease