The Omicron variant of Covid-19 continues to mutate. In his latest YouTube video, Professor Tim Spector, of the ZOE Covid Study app, gave the latest on two new subvariants of Omicron - BA.4 and BA.5.
According to Prof Spector, the UK is not yet seeing "worrying levels" of the variants but he warned: "We are keeping an eye on this because South Africa - where Omicron was first picked up - is seeing BA.4 and BA.5 increasing quite fast". Meanwhile, he said loss of smell and tinnitus - also known as ear ringing - are symptoms to take "really seriously", although the former was more associated with previous strains.
"It suggests another part of the body is being affected, something internal, more close to the brain," he said. The alert comes after Prof Spector and his team carried out a survey to assess the prevalence of tinnitus in people infected with Covid, reports the Express.
