These are the symptoms of the COVID-19 delta variant now found in Whatcom County
Reports suggest the delta variant affects the body in a different manner from other strains of the coronavirus, according to a Yale Medicine article.
“It seems like cough and loss of smell are less common. And headache, sore throat, runny nose, and fever are present based on the most recent surveys in the U.K., where more than 90% of the cases are due to the delta strain,” Yale Medicine pediatric infectious diseases specialist and a vaccinologist Dr. Inci Yildirim said in the article.
Whatcom County saw its first case of the delta coronavirus variant reported Wednesday, July 7, on the latest SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing and Variants report by the Washington State Department of Health.
Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, runs the Zoe Covid Symptom study, told CNBC that the study, which asks participants to enter their symptoms through an app, is showing that COVID symptoms are changing. to more of a bad cold or just “feeling off.”
“It’s more like a bad cold in this younger population and people don’t realize that and that hasn’t come across in any of the government information,” Spector told CNBC.
“Since the start of May, we have been looking at the top symptoms in the app users and they are not the same as they were,” he said. “The No. 1 symptom is headache, then followed by sore throat, runny nose and fever,” he continued.
Whatcom’s one case is one of 656 confirmed delta variant cases spread across 13 Washington state counties, according to the state report.
“The best way to protect yourself and your loved ones from the Delta variant is to get vaccinated. If you’ve already gotten one dose of either Pfizer or Moderna, be sure to get your second dose,” the Whatcom County Health Department stated in a release earlier this week, adding that vaccine providers can be found at vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov.
This story was originally published July 8, 2021 at 12:39 PM.
