What to know about new COVID variant
Hey, welcome back. Well, we are just days away from the 4th of July holiday, and as you plan, health experts say that you should be aware of a new COVID-19 variant that is spreading pretty fast. It could trigger a summer wave, and there is one key symptom many people are reporting. Mandy Gaither breaks down what you should watch out for. It’s related to the Omicron variant NB 181, nicknamed Nimbus, is spreading in the US, now causing more than 40% of COVID-19 cases, according to the latest CDC data. — It
— is a little bit more infectious and contagious than kind of the last couple of versions that we have seen before. So we’re seeing a pretty rapid rise. — In the number of cases related to
— Nimbus, Dr. Carrie Horn with National Jewish Health says as people gather to celebrate the July 4th holiday, there’s an increased chance for the virus to spread even more. She says in addition to the symptoms with previous variants like fever, runny nose, and congestion, some shortness of breath, cough, and body aches, the defining symptoms. For this variant is what she calls a razor blade sore throat. It is really intense and it can last for a couple of days. Um, and it’s even as bad as like when you’re just swallowing your saliva, just normal swallowing. It doesn’t have to be with food or, or liquids or anything, um, just super intense pain. To slow the spread of this variant, Horn says to stay home if you’re having symptoms. It If you do go out, wear a mask and continue washing hands. If you’re at high risk of getting severely sick, she recommends getting the updated COVID-19 vaccine. The real benefit of the vaccine is keeping people out of the hospital, um, preventing severe illness and death. So anybody who’s high risk, I strongly recommend getting the vaccine. For Health Minute, I’m Mandy Gaither.
As you plan activities for the upcoming July 4 holiday, health experts say to be aware of a new Covid-19 variant that could lead to a summer wave of the virus.
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