2 unusual symptoms of omicron variant revealed

Omicron is triggering a “rather different” set of symptoms compared to previous variants, experts have warned, including lower back pain and a scratchy throat, Report informs referring to The Telegraph.

An analysis of roughly 78,000 omicron cases in South Africa, published on Tuesday, found that the variant is resulting in milder disease compared to previous waves, with 29 percent fewer hospitalizations than the Wuhan strain and 23 percent fewer compared to delta.

Speaking at a briefing Ryan Noach – chief executive of Discovery Health, the country’s largest private health insurer, which was behind the study – said doctors have noted a slightly different set of symptoms among those testing positive.

The most common early sign was a scratchy throat, he said, followed by nasal congestion, a dry cough and myalgia manifesting in lower back pain.

While most cases tend to be mild, Dr Noach stressed this does not mean that omicron is less virulent; instead that multiple layers of immunity acquired via both infection and vaccination have likely played a significant role in shifting the severity of disease.