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Scientists explore how omicron symptoms differ from other COVID signs

Transcript¹

Most people know the telltale signs of COVID-19. But given omicron's many mutations, are the common symptoms still the same? Doctors are noticing at least some differences with the new variant².

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The omicron variant is a lot different from its predecessors³. It has lots of mutations. It gets by the vaccines⁴ more easily. But when it comes to actually getting sick, are the symptoms different? NPR's Will Stone reports.

WILL STONE, BYLINE⁵: Infectious disease doctors like John Vanchiere are getting a sense of what omicron cases, at least the less serious ones, tend to look like.

JOHN VANCHIERE: Runny nose, sore throat and the cough is milder, if any cough at all - fever, it seems to be a little less common.

STONE: Vanchiere is at LSU Health Shreveport in Louisiana. He says one significant difference - loss of smell used to be a telltale sign of COVID. But with omicron...

VANCHIERE: The clinical looks more like the flu than the old COVID, right? You don't have the loss of taste and smell.

STONE: The clinical picture of omicron is still messy. But scientists in the U.K. have found the classic symptoms of fever, cough and loss of smell are much less prevalent there. And early data from Europe, Africa and now the U.S. does suggest a reduced risk of severe disease with omicron compared to delta⁶. But some people are still getting very sick. Dr. Brendan Carr is chair of emergency medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. He says what's clear is that fewer patients are showing up with low oxygen levels.

BRENDAN CARR: That was a hallmark of the first disease and of delta, and that is not nearly as prominent in omicron.

STONE: Good news because that means fewer people need oxygen and ICU care. This also fits with some early lab research that shows omicron does not infect the lungs as well as other variants⁷.

CARR: That, however, isn't the end of the story. The next piece is people who have chronic⁸ medical problems - heart failure, diabetes⁹, have hypertension, emphysema - or, frankly¹⁰, are older and just a little bit less able to bounce back rapidly from getting sick.

STONE: Carr says these patients are still ending up in the hospital. Now, there are some symptoms that seem to be showing up more with omicron. For example, South Africa doctors have noticed lower back pain. But Carr says it could be that doctors are simply paying closer attention because fewer people are struggling to breathe.

CARR: When there's a car crash and the car's on fire, you're focused on the fire and less focused on the fact that the car has structural¹¹ damage.

STONE: Dr. Scott Roberts at the Yale School of Medicine agrees. He says yes, omicron looks more like a typical upper respiratory infection. But...

SCOTT ROBERTS: The symptom differences between people infected with the omicron variant versus¹² the delta variant are really more similar than they are different.

STONE: That means you may get dizzy, have a terrible fever, suffer from aches and pains, GI problems - all of which were true with delta. And Roberts says what's also still true is the risk of not being vaccinated¹³.

ROBERTS: We are seeing about 80% of our inpatients who get admitted with COVID are unvaccinated. The 20% who are vaccinated, the vast majority of those are not boosted.

STONE: Sorting out why omicron looks different is tricky¹⁴ right now. Dr. Daniel Griffin at Columbia University says in part, that's because many of these clinical observations are based on patients who already have some level of immunity¹⁵.

DANIEL GRIFFIN: It just seems that people who are been vaccinated ahead of time are getting much milder symptoms across the board.

STONE: This was the case even before omicron. Breakthrough cases were not as severe. People tended to have fewer symptoms and recovered more quickly. Griffin says the bottom line is your overall risk still very much depends on who you are.

GRIFFIN: It's hard for me to buy the idea that this is so much milder when I'm taking care of reinfected patients who I took care of in hospital in, you know, April of 2020.

STONE: And with so many more people getting infected, he says omicron can still do a lot of damage.

Will Stone, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF FEVERKIN'S "SILHOUETTE")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

3 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

7 variants   

n.变体( variant的名词复数 )；变种；变型；（词等的）变体

参考例句：

• Those variants will be preserved in the'struggle for existence". 这些变异将在“生存竞争”中被保留下来。 来自辞典例句
• Like organisms, viruses have variants, generally called strains. 与其他生物一样，病毒也有变种，一般称之为株系。 来自辞典例句

8 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

9 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

10 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

11 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

12 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

13 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

14 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

15 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。