A new Covid strain is spreading rapidly around the world and is projected to soon become the primary variant. As winter illnesses begin cropping up with colder weather, a GP has revealed what she is seeing in her practice.
Dr Helen Wall has noticed serious new Covid symptoms that ‘seem to be really wiping people out’. For GPs treating an influx of patients with similar coughs and fevers, it can be challenging to identify Covid from a slew of other winter illnesses.
But Dr Wall says that all these illnesses can put you out of commission, and there is one important thing you can do to avoid being knocked out for weeks, or even going to hospital.
Dr Wall, clinical director of population health in Greater Manchester, said GPs are seeing an increase in illnesses as the new XEC coronavirus variant spreads, reports the Manchester Evening News.
She said: “We do see generally a rise in respiratory infections this time of year. There is another Covid variant on the scene which is expected to become the most dominant, and is becoming more prevalent like all the variants before it.
“We don’t completely know if it makes it more or less transmissible, I suspect more because they always are. But we don’t know what the situation is.”
Researchers have identified XEC as a combination of existing Covid strains, which can happen if an individual contracts both strains simultaneously. The variant is formed from the KP.3.3 and KS. 1.1 strains, with genetic links to omicron – a strain known for reduced severity but higher contagion, compared to earlier Covid strains.
XEC appears to be spreading faster than other variants, some researchers have claimed, meaning it may surpass other variants as the most common strain globally in just a few months.
Dr Wall warned that she has observed recent coronavirus cases “wiping people out” more than past variants, drawing a greater resemblance to the flu.
She said: “We could well be seeing the new Covid variant in practice. At the moment, it seems to be a bit more flu-like than previous iterations of Covid, with a high temperature, a cough, aching body, headache.
“Some of the symptoms in the past were more cough and cold symptoms, but at the moment, Covid does seem to be wiping people out. We’re seeing an increase in respiratory infections, you see that every time the weather changes, and there’s always a rise when the children go back to school.
“But whether that’s Covid is really difficult to say because a lot of the symptoms blur together with other illnesses that are prevalent at this time of year. Whether it’s Covid versus flu is hard to separate.
“People who have the flu tend to be extremely unwell. Sometimes, people say they’ve got the flu but have actually got a bad cold. Generally, if you’ve got true flu, you’re bed bound.
“With Covid, you might actually be quite well. You might be coughing and having other symptoms, but able to go about your business – and you might be unintentionally spreading it to people who are vulnerable.”
Covid testing has massively decreased since the end of widespread drives. Without easy access to free testing, it has recently been challenging for public health officials to get a sense of how quickly new strains are spreading.
Dr Wall says that public health officians are working off “skewed” data since current reports come from people in hospital who have contracted particularly severe cases, or caught it in hospital while recovering from an unrelated ailment.
Without reliable data, Dr Wall recommends that people get vaccinated against what the NHS has dubbed the “tripledemic” of winter illnesses is vital. This year, the NHS is offering the new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, as well as Covid and flu jabs.
Dr Wall acknowledged that people might not want to get so many jabs, which can cause aches and pains, but says the temporary discomfort is much better than the alternative. She said: “Three vaccines is a lot, and some people might think it’s just another thing to worry about, or get the new RSV jab but then not get the Covid and flu jabs too.
“The difficulty is that people are working, there’s a cost-of-living crisis – people don’t want to be off work to get a vaccine or if they’re feeling a little unwell because of any side effects. But I’d encourage people to keep in mind the bigger picture.
“Most vaccine side effects go within a few hours to 24 hours, around half of the people who get a vaccine won’t get side effects at all. If you get any of these illnesses, you’ll be off work for much longer.
“If you’ve been deemed eligible for these vaccines, it’s because we think you’re going to be very ill if you get these and end up in hospital. It’s about keeping that in perspective, you don’t want to look back and wish you’d had the jabs.”
For those who might be feeling under the weather, familiar advice applies. Dr Wall said: “It’s not like it was during the peak of Covid, but a lot of the general advice remains the same. If you have a high fever, try not to mix with people. If people have elderly relatives or know people who are immunocompromised, I wouldn’t be mixing with them if I’ve got a temperature, or cold or flu-like symptoms.”
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