covid-19 daily update: having your front door welded shut because you have covid
3 minute read
a study found that the loss of smell is now being seen in just under 20 per cent of cases, and often days after the start of symptoms. getty
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how is omicron different from delta?
the omicron subvariant currently driving the seventh wave of the pandemic is not like last year’s delta variant, according to a recent u.k. study.
according to the zoe health study, most people infected with omicron can expect a sore throat and a hoarse voice, unlike the cough, fever and headache commonly seen with delta — although these symptoms can still happen. omicron infection also seems to be less severe than delta, with a lower likelihood of hospitalization and a shorter duration of symptoms which last an average of 6.87 days, compared to the 8.89 days that has been reported with delta.
the study also found that the loss of smell, which according to one study affected just over 40 per cent of patients, is now being seen in just under 20 per cent of cases, and often days after the start of symptoms.
the research, which was supported by grants from the u.k. government department of health and social care, tested people in the u.k. who were vaccinated during the period when the delta variant was dominant (june 1 and november 27, 2021) and from dec. 20, 2021 to jan. 17, 2022, when omicron became the common variant. besides the differences in length and symptoms found by comparing 62,002 positive tests, researchers also reported that, unlike delta, omicron was less likely to affect the respiratory tract, which has been linked to more severe symptoms.
we support the boosters, but we’re not getting them
“the urgency around this is not what it was, say, a year or 18 months ago,” darrell bricker, ceo of ipsos public affairs, told global news, after a new poll found that while canadians support getting booster shots, many aren’t rolling up their sleeves.
the poll, done exclusively for global, surveyed more than 1,000 canadians and found that while 66 per cent said they wouldn’t hesitate to get a booster shot and three-quarters agreed that an extra jab reduces hospitalization risk, just under half of the population has actually received an additional dose after getting the initial two doses of the vaccine. in fact, according to the government of canada, the number of canadians getting a booster has not changed much, even though the national advisory council on immunization (naci) recommended in june that canadians get boosted based on predictions of another wave in september.
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you can run, but you can’t hide
meanwhile, people in china continue to deal with the fallout of the country’s “zero-covid” policy. not only are residents required to undergo routine testing and quarantines, but their homes have also been subject to break-ins by police and health workers searching for people with the virus. according to global news, some people who contracted the virus have even had the doors to their homes welded with iron bars to prevent them from leaving, making access to food, health care and basic necessities impossible.
more proof that covid is not like the flu
good morning britain’s kate garraway is taking a break from her job to take care of her lobbyist husband derek draper who is in hospital with complications related to covid-19.
according to the daily record, since being infected with the virus in march 2020, hospitalized and placed in a medically-induced coma, draper has become one of the worst affected cases to have survived the virus. while he was released from hospital last april, he needed 24/7 care and garraway said he had lost all muscle mass.
she has received acclaim for her documentary, finding derek, which chronicles her husband’s battle with covid and how the family has had to adapt to accommodate his needs.
lisa machado is the executive producer of healthing.
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