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The Good Brigade\/Getty Images<\/p>\n <\/span> \nAfter a relatively quiet summer, COVID-19 appears to be gaining traction again in the U.S., with the latest subvariant EG.5 (Eris) causing increases in cases and hospitalizations across the country.\n<\/p>\n \nThe most recent variant proportion estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), EG.5 makes up the majority of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., accounting for just over 20% of all illnesses.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nHospitalizations are starting to tick up as well: The most recent data, from August 19, shows 15,067 new COVID hospitalizations\u2014a 19% increase from the previous week.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nAs with most new COVID variants and subvariants, one question seems to come to mind first: \u201cWhat are the symptoms?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nThough all COVID-19 symptoms, regardless of variant, are unlikely to differ too much, it\u2019s difficult to say for sure which symptoms are specific to EG.5 right now\u2014but here\u2019s what doctors have been seeing recently as the new subvariant gains steam throughout the U.S.\n<\/p>\n CDC Says New COVID Variant BA.2.86 May Be Better At Causing Breakthrough Infections<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nWhile there is not strong data yet on the kinds of symptoms people are experiencing right now, doctors are anecdotally reporting mostly mild or common symptoms of COVID-19.\n<\/p>\n \nKristina K. Bryant, MD, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist with Norton Children\u2019s Infectious Diseases, told Health<\/em> that she\u2019s mostly seeing patients with symptoms similar to the prior Omicron subvariant.\n<\/p>\n \nThose symptoms involve mainly upper respiratory complaints, like sore throat, cough, congestion, and runny nose.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cSome people even said they thought they had allergies,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cBut EG.5 bears watching. It is the dominant subvariant.\u201d\n<\/p>\n People with COVID-19 report a wide range of symptoms, from mild to severe illness. The most commonly-reported symptoms include:<\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nAs the SARS-CoV-2 virus has mutated throughout the pandemic, certain symptoms have become more common, and some have become less common. But by and large, the virus still primarily affects the respiratory system.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cThe picture of COVID (the clinical presentation) seems to be pretty much the same from beginning to end and it resembles influenza and RSV,\u201d said William Schaffner, MD, professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. \u201cThe major impact of this virus is on the respiratory tract, particularly the lungs, and the lung can respond in only so many ways.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nWhen the virus surfaced in 2020, loss of taste and smell was a common symptom. Now, more than three years later, that specific symptom has significantly decreased in the population.\n<\/p>\n \nNew research published in the journal Otolaryngology\u2014Head and Neck Surgery<\/em>, found that the risk of losing one\u2019s sense of smell and taste from recent COVID-19 omicron variants is 6\u20137%\u2014and that moving forward, it\u2019s possible that loss of taste and smell may no longer predict a COVID-19 diagnosis.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nAdditionally, gastrointestinal symptoms, like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea seem to be less common as time goes on.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nDoctors have also reported fewer cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). The CDC reported that in 2020, MIS-C occurred in\u00a01 of approximately 3,000\u00a0to 4,000\u00a0children and adolescents who had SARS-CoV-2 infection. The condition has become rarer since the start of the pandemic.<\/span>\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nThe fact that MIS-C has diminished may be due to the fact that many children have been exposed to COVID-19 or have been vaccinated, said Schaffner.\n<\/p>\n Do You Still Need to Test for COVID-19?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nBecause it\u2019s difficult to determine whether you have COVID-19 by symptoms alone, the best way to verify an infection is through testing. All COVID-19 tests\u2014including PCR tests administered by medical professionals and rapid tests administered at home\u2014should be able to detect EG.5.\n<\/p>\n \nIf you experience trouble breathing or respiratory issues, or if you are at high risk for severe illness due to underlying conditions or because you are pregnant, it\u2019s especially important to get tested, said Schaffner.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cIf [your test] turns out positive, please contact your healthcare provider because we have the medicine Paxlovid that can help protect you from this illness getting more severe and putting you in the hospital,\u201d he added.\n<\/p>\n \nAnd as for prevention, experts agree that the newest iteration of the vaccine\u2014based on the XBB variant\u2014will also help to prevent severe illness from EG.5.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cRemember these vaccines do a better job at preventing severe disease than milder infection,\u201d said Schaffner. \u201cBut that\u2019s the point; we want to keep you out of the hospital and this updated booster will help you get through the winter.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nIt\u2019s also important to remember that SARS-CoV-2 will likely keep evolving, and that there will be certain variants that make some years worse than others when it comes to symptoms and severity of disease.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cLike with flu, some years we have a bad flu season and we have some people with just mild [cold-like] symptoms while others develop severe lower respiratory tract problems,\u201d said Bryant. \u201cI think ultimately, we are going to see the same with SARS-CoV-2; some seasons are going to be worse than others.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New COVID-19 subvariant EG.5 currently makes up the majority of cases in the U.S., according to the CDC. Though data on the new variant is lacking, doctors are commonly seeing upper respiratory complaints, like sore throat, cough, congestion, and runny nose. Meanwhile, other COVID-19 symptoms, like loss of taste and smell, are less common with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1285,410],"tags":[1286,116],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17370"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n What Are the Symptoms of EG.5? <\/span> <\/h2>\n
\nCOVID-19 Symptoms<\/h3>\n
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Which COVID-19 Symptoms Aren\u2019t So Common Anymore? <\/span> <\/h2>\n
Testing for COVID-19 Still Important <\/span> <\/h2>\n