That could mean some people don't even realize they're infected, with more cases of mild COVID-19 flying under the radar. Still, he said it's likely COVID-19 is appearing more often as a cold-like illness here as well, not just the U.K., as more residents get vaccinated. Zain Chagla, an infectious diseases specialist with McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., noted similar self-reported symptom data doesn't exist in Canada. Younger people more likely to have milder symptomsĭr.
Several Canadian experts who spoke to CBC News say vaccination programs prioritizing older adults, and a greater awareness of the range of symptoms, could both be playing a role in the shift, and it's a trend that could change how governments test and track COVID-19 infections in the months ahead. "This variant seems to be working slightly differently."īut others say it's less likely that this highly-transmissible variant is causing an actual change in symptoms, and more likely that other factors - including the age of those getting infected, as Spector noted - may be behind the milder symptom reports. "All those are not the old, classic symptoms," he said.
In his statement, Spector stressed the shift in top-reported symptoms could be tied to the delta variant. The top ones are now headache, sore throat, and a runny nose, much like a common cold. researcher says most-reported COVID-19 symptoms now milder:ĭuration 1:03 Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College London, is the lead researcher for the U.K.-based ZOE COVID Symptom Study App, which has allowed residents to report their symptoms throughout the pandemic. "Curiously, we did notice that people who had been vaccinated and then tested positive for COVID-19 were more likely to report sneezing as a symptom compared with those without a jab," the team wrote, noting anyone who's been vaccinated and starts sneezing frequently should consider getting tested.
But other analyses by the group - including an update shared on Friday - have zeroed in on confirmed cases. It's not clear based on the information released whether the researchers were looking specifically at symptoms reported by those who eventually tested positive for COVID-19, and the team did not respond to CBC News' requests for an interview. Having a cough clocked in as the fifth most-reported symptom - less common than before, he said - while loss of smell is no longer in the top ten. "It's more like a bad cold in this younger population," Spector said.
Headache, sore throat, runny nose and fever are now the top four reported symptoms, all while the more-infectious delta variant, also known as B1617, is sweeping mainly through people under 40 in the U.K. "Since the start of May, we've been looking at the top symptoms for the app users, and they're not the same as they were," said the team's lead researcher, Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College London, in a video statement released last week. residents to report their daily symptoms throughout most of the pandemic, with scientific analysis provided by King's College London. The findings come from the ZOE COVID Symptom Study app, which allowed U.K. symptom tracking app, and medical experts here in Canada say various factors could be causing the illness to feel more like a common cold. The most-reported symptoms of COVID-19 are now a headache, sore throat, and runny nose, according to the research team behind a U.K. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here. This is an excerpt from Second Opinion, a weekly roundup of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers every Saturday morning.