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LONDON – When the coronavirus pandemic first hit in early 2020, governments quickly released information about what symptoms to look out for, unaware that much of the transmission was asymptomatic.
The public was asked to watch out for a high temperature and a new persistent cough with loss of taste or smell, fatigue, and a sore throat, which were also mentioned as possible symptoms (some added at different times in the pandemic).
Fast forward to today and more symptoms will be reported and recognized. The variation in symptoms has occurred over time as several variants of the virus – such as the Alpha strain and now the highly transmittable Delta variant – made the “original” strain of Covid-19, first discovered in China in late 2019. have replaced.
Read more: Covid Delta variant: symptoms, spread and what to look out for
Now, an ongoing UK study allowing the public to enter their Covid symptoms into an app – which allows scientists to then analyze the data – says new coronavirus symptoms are widely reported.
The Zoe Covid Symptom Study has identified the current five most common symptoms that have occurred over the past few weeks that seem to differ depending on whether you have been vaccinated and how many doses you have received.
The symptoms highlighted below were first published in late June, but they still represent the top five most common symptoms, the Zoe Covid symptom study told CNBC on Wednesday.
The symptom rankings are based solely on the reports from the public in the app and do not take into account which variant caused the virus or demographic information.
These are the five most common symptoms reported by people who are fully vaccinated, have received a dose of a vaccine, or are unvaccinated.
Symptoms with full vaccination?
The Zoe Covid Symptom Study says that generally similar symptoms of Covid-19 were reported on the app by people who were vaccinated and not vaccinated.
However, those who had already received the vaccination reported fewer symptoms over a shorter period of time, suggesting they became less seriously ill and recovered faster.
Here is the current ranking of the Covid symptoms after two vaccinations:
- a headache
- Runny nose
- Sneeze
- Sore throat
- Loss of smell
The study found that “traditional” Covid symptoms such as anosmia (loss of smell), fever and shortness of breath were at the bottom of the list at five, twelve and 29, respectively. “A persistent cough is now ranked 8th if you had two doses of the vaccine, so it is no longer the most important indicator of Covid.”
Symptoms after a vaccination dose?
The ranking changes again after a vaccination dose as described below:
- a headache
- Runny nose
- Sore throat
- Sneeze
- Persistent cough
With the protection of just one dose of vaccine, one of the original indicators of persistent cough made the five most common symptoms, Zoe noted.
Symptoms If You Are Not Vaccinated?
If you haven’t been vaccinated, symptoms are more likely to be recognizable by the traditional ranking, Zoe said. “However, we can still see some changes from when Covid-19 first appeared over a year ago.”
- a headache
- Sore throat
- Runny nose
- fever
- Persistent cough
“Odor loss comes in 9th and shortness of breath comes way down in 30th, suggesting that the previously recorded symptoms change as the variants of the virus develop,” the study found.
Covid cases, which are attributed to the much more contagious Delta variant, are increasing in parts of Europe, the UK and the USA, especially among young people and among the partially vaccinated and unvaccinated.
Read more: The Delta variant is spreading in Europe and cannot be stopped
While two doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca or Pfizer BioNTech vaccine offered protection against the Delta variant, both were significantly less effective after just one shot.
The latest research from Israel on Monday showed a decrease in the effectiveness of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine in preventing infection and symptomatic disease, which coincided with the spread of Delta, but said it remained highly effective in preventing serious diseases.
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