South African Doctor Who Found the Omicron Variant Said It Could Just Cause Very Mild Symptoms

The past few days have been filled with stress and anxiety as the new coronavirus variant, Omicron, dances around the globe.

While many of us fear another form of lockdown, some good news was finally shed about the virus.

South African Doctor Who Found the Omicron Variant Said It Could Just Cause Very Mild Symptoms

The first South African doctor who alerted the authorities about the Omicron variant said that although the symptoms caused by the variant are unusual, they are mild and could be treated at home.

Private practitioner and chair of South African Medical Association, Dr Angelique Coetzee, said the symptoms of the Omicron variant “did not make immediate sense” at first.

Omicron Symptoms

One of the most common symptoms Dr Coetzee encountered in her patients is intense fatigue. Most of the younger patients, regardless of their background or ethnicities, experienced extreme fatigue when they were infected with the virus.

That includes a six-year-old patient who had a very high pulse rate.

Aside from fatigue, a patient also experienced body aches and headaches, symptoms that look like a normal viral infection.

Unlike the usual COVID-19 symptoms, there is no reported loss of smell or taste as well. Their oxygen levels also remained stable with no major drop in oxygen levels.

Treatment

So far, the symptoms presented were so mild that they are deemed to be treatable at home even if they are not vaccinated.

The six-year-old who had a very high pulse rate followed up with the doctor two days later, and was feeling much better without hospital admission.

However, all these patients with mild symptoms are 40 years old and below. Half of these patients were also vaccinated.

Older unvaccinated people with underlying illnesses like diabetes or heart diseases may have it worst.

Additionally, older people who are more vulnerable to the virus may also take some time to display the symptoms, thus there is not much data about older patients with the Omicron variant.

Omicron

In case you’ve been avoiding the news like the plague recently, here’s a quick rundown on what is the Omicron variant:

• Mutated COVID-19 strain (like Delta but not) that may spread more quickly and have a higher risk of reinfection
• It may possibly be the most dangerous variant but currently, there are still not enough data to determine that
• As of this writing, the variant could be found in South Africa, Belgium, Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong

You can read more information about the variant here.

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