A Covid outbreak at a Norwegian party last November is the basis for a study showing how there are eight key symptoms of how the Omicron variant of the virus affects those who are fully-vaccinated.
Though UK Covid-19 rates have fallen dramatically in recent weeks - it's unclear how much of this fall is due to the end of free mass testing from April 1 - there are still thought to be thousands of people contracting the virus. And many of those people are fully-vaccinated.
The various Covid-19 vaccines provide strong protection against severe illness, but this wanes and does not always protect someone from catching the virus. And booster jabs have been needed to renew protection. Researchers in Norway have focussed on one shocking house party in the Scandinavian country which led to 81 Covid-19 cases.
In a study published in the epidemiology and infectious disease journal Eurosurveillance, the Norwegian team set out how, after speaking to 111 of the 117 people attending the party, they had identified how 66 people had confirmed Covid, and another 15 were also potentially positive. Of those to take part in the research, 89% were double-jabbed, but none had received a booster at the time.
According to the Independent, the research highlights eight key symptoms that the double-jabbed partygoers experienced.
Omicron symptoms:
- Cough
- Runny nose
- Sore throat
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Muscle pain
- Sneezing
- Pain
Of those, coughing, fatigue and a runny nose were the most common among vaccinated individuals, with a fever and sneezing least reported.
Public health experts also add nausea to this list of symptoms in vaccinated people who have contracted the Omicron variant. Being vaccinated also means symptoms are likely to be more mild, making distinguishing them from a common cold difficult. Professor Tim Spector from the ZOE Symptom Study App says around 50 per cent of "‘new colds currently are, in fact, Covid".
Experts have also spoken of how fatigue has been a standout symptom of Omicron. There have also been reports from Germany showing a link between fainting spells and Omicron. German newspaper Ärztezeitung - a specialist publication aimed at the medical community - said that the doctors could see a “clear connection” between the infection and the fainting spells.
According to the report, doctors in Berlin found that Covid was triggering recurrent fainting spells for a 35-year-old patient admitted to hospital. Meanwhile, a Web MD poll found that 40 per cent of women reported they struggled with fatigue due to Covid compared to a third of men. This is based on a survey that took place between December 23 and January 4.
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