Most people with Omicron didn't even realise they had COVID-19, study finds

[Eric]

Strange how it really hits some hard and others have no idea they even had it, no wonder it's so hard to write guidelines around.

Most people with Omicron didn't even realise they had COVID-19, study finds

This "low level of infection awareness has likely contributed to the fast spread of Omicron," said Dr Susan Cheng.

news.sky.com

Most people who were infected with the Omicron variant didn't even realise they had COVID-19, according to a new study from Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in the US.

The lack of public awareness about being infected means that people can't take steps to prevent themselves transmitting the virus further, which is a major stumbling block for addressing new waves of the pandemic.

"More than one in every two people who were infected with Omicron didn't know they had it," said Dr Susan Cheng, a corresponding author of the study which is published in JAMA Network Open.

The new booster is about to come out that should cover Omicron, looking forward to getting it personally. I want no version of this thing (though I think I've already had it) and will continue to take whatever measures that come available.

 

[mollyc]

This does not suprise me, but how was it determined they actually had it? Are there omicron specific antibodies they can test for?

 

[Herdfan]

This does not suprise me, but how was it determined they actually had it? Are there omicron specific antibodies they can test for?

Not me either. I had a scratchy throat for 3-4 days and a slight cough, but not consistently. Only way I knew for sure was a rapid test. Wife was a little worse, but still milder than our usual winter cold.

 

[mollyc]

Not me either. I had a scratchy throat for 3-4 days and a slight cough, but not consistently. Only way I knew for sure was a rapid test. Wife was a little worse, but still milder than our usual winter cold.

well if you tested, then you became aware. The language in the article (the part that is in the excerpt, I didn't click on it), seems to imply that people never, EVER, knew, which indicates no testing at all.

 

[Eric]

well if you tested, then you became aware. The language in the article (the part that is in the excerpt, I didn't click on it), seems to imply that people never, EVER, knew, which indicates no testing at all.

From the article:

Scientists at Cedars-Sinai have been conducting research into the effects of COVID-19 and the impact of vaccines for more than two years.

At the beginning of the study they began collecting blood samples from healthcare workers, and then in the autumn of 2021 they began collecting samples from patients too.

Of the 2,479 healthcare workers and patients who had given blood samples around the beginning of the Omicron surge, the researchers found 210 people who were infected with the variant based on newly positive levels of antibodies in their blood.

The researchers then surveyed the study participants to get updates on their health status, and during these surveys only 44% of participants who had the antibodies were aware of being infected.

The majority were not only unaware of any infection, but only 10% reported having any symptoms at all - and those that did believed they were caused by a cold or another infection.

 

[mollyc]

From the article:

it does help if you read it all, doesn't it. thx.

 

[Herdfan]

I guess I need to further clarify. Had my wife not bought the tests and tested herself first, I wouldn't have tested and would never have known.

It was really that mild.

 

[mollyc]

We test for everything....scratchy throat, sniffles...we just stockpile tests and assume we have covid until we test. The kids both had it, my husband and I have not (at least none that ever registered on a rapid test).

 

[Eric]

I guess I need to further clarify. Had my wife not bought the tests and tested herself first, I wouldn't have tested and would never have known.

It was really that mild.

This was my experience also, had mild symptoms that could've been attributed to anything really but knew I was around someone exposed and decided to test, got a faint line. Still up in the air on whether or not I had it though.

We test for everything....scratchy throat, sniffles...we just stockpile tests and assume we have covid until we test. The kids both had it, my husband and I have not (at least none that ever registered on a rapid test).

Same here, my wife was all sniffles last night and I just gave her a look... "do you want me to test?"

 

[lizkat]

I still get my groceries delivered, and the meet-and-greet reunions w/ neighbors have all been outdoors so far. I joked to a friend the other night that maybe I'm most likely to end up with a variant of covid just from showing up to my wellness check or going to the pharmacy for a flu shot later on this fall. But that won't stop me from such appointed rounds. Anyway so far so good: I haven't even sneezed yet at the bumper crop of goldenrod starting to wave its fluffy wares.

 

[DT]

Anyway so far so good: I haven't even sneezed yet at the bumper crop of goldenrod starting to wave its fluffy wares.

Right? Covid or this ...

 

[Eric]

I still get my groceries delivered, and the meet-and-greet reunions w/ neighbors have all been outdoors so far. I joked to a friend the other night that maybe I'm most likely to end up with a variant of covid just from showing up to my wellness check or going to the pharmacy for a flu shot later on this fall. But that won't stop me from such appointed rounds. Anyway so far so good: I haven't even sneezed yet at the bumper crop of goldenrod starting to wave its fluffy wares.

I'm very much the same, ironically I was exposed by a close friend who was taking all the right measures but I still won't hang out inside with anyone but am glad to make outdoor events.

 

[lizkat]

Right? Covid or this ...
View attachment 16872

Yep! We had all this incredible rain in June this year, long enough to keep people from battling the jungle for early control of gardening spots... and that let the goldenrod attain stalk heights of almost 6' now in any later neglected corners. Of course lately the weather is almost as dry as a bone, so the goldenrod's trying for an Olympic medal as it blooms. I'm lucky that I don't react much to pollens, and I feel badly in advance for my friends already sneezing as the first few stalks put forth their flowers and advertise the onslaught to come.

 

[Runs For Fun]

I caught it again a week and a half ago. It was even milder than it was the previous time I had it. I'm guessing it was probably Omicron. I had an extremely mild sore throat and some light congestion for a couple days. The worst thing I felt was just the fatigue. Finally starting to feel back to normal now. If it hadn't been for that I probably wouldn't have thought it was Covid.

 

[Herdfan]

I'm very much the same, ironically I was exposed by a close friend who was taking all the right measures but I still won't hang out inside with anyone but am glad to make outdoor events.

More ironic are our neighbors. They have been super vigilant since this all started. They refused to go to a local restaurant because one of the servers was wearing her mask under her nose.

She has now had it 3 times and he has had it twice plus a rebound from the second time.

 

[fischersd]

Is your fall booster the same as ours (in Canada)? (that it's going to be protection against the original Omicron variant, not against BA.5?) - if so, I'm beginning to think that there's little point. Most of us have had Omicron and possibly BA.5. I'd like to see the stats on what additional protection a booster could provide if you've already had the two?

As many people had adverse reactions to the shots (my spouse included), they really need to demonstrate what the benefits are going to be. She's not planning on having any more shots, due to how bad her reaction to her third Pfizer was.

 

[Roller]

More ironic are our neighbors. They have been super vigilant since this all started. They refused to go to a local restaurant because one of the servers was wearing her mask under her nose.

She has now had it 3 times and he has had it twice plus a rebound from the second time.

It depends what you mean by super vigilant. At a restaurant, for example, it doesn’t much matter if the servers are properly masked if there are unmasked patrons around.

The transmissibility of the recent omicron variants and sub-variants is so high, it doesn’t take much exposure to be infected. So even people who’ve been quite cautious are getting COVID-19. But I don’t subscribe to the notion that no precautions are needed because everyone will get it anyway. I continue to mask indoors to, hopefully, limit the number of episodes in the long run and keep flu and cold viruses at bay.

 

[DT]

I guess I need to further clarify. Had my wife not bought the tests and tested herself first, I wouldn't have tested and would never have known.

It was really that mild.

We had this scenario, where two people got it, likely exposed at the very same time, one person had pretty visible (very bad cold-lke) symptoms 3 days later, the other person had none, and wouldn't have even checked if not for symptomatic person.

Interestingly, the second person got symptoms about 3-4 days later (than the 1st person), and tested negative about 3-4 days later than the first person (so the same, assuming, exposure date, but her positive/symptoms/negative window pushed later by 3-4 days). When her symptoms peaked it was pretty nasty for about 24 hours, like moderately bad flu-like. And it was close to 10 days from the first positive to negative (home antigen test).

FWIW, both of these people had both shots, both boosters, which we were thankful for, given their symptoms weren't exactly "mild".

 

[Eric]

Is your fall booster the same as ours (in Canada)? (that it's going to be protection against the original Omicron variant, not against BA.5?) - if so, I'm beginning to think that there's little point. Most of us have had Omicron and possibly BA.5. I'd like to see the stats on what additional protection a booster could provide if you've already had the two?

As many people had adverse reactions to the shots (my spouse included), they really need to demonstrate what the benefits are going to be. She's not planning on having any more shots, due to how bad her reaction to her third Pfizer was.

The way I see it is I can't know for sure one way or the other without antibody tests and most are not getting those, so I see no harm in this booster and if it means I can finally be in public without a mask (at least with that sense of security) I'll gladly take it. I'm a high risk group so I'm sure Kaiser will notify me as soon as its available.

 

[Renzatic]

This was my experience also, had mild symptoms that could've been attributed to anything really but knew I was around someone exposed and decided to test, got a faint line. Still up in the air on whether or not I had it though.

I'm beginning to believe that I more than likely caught it earlier this year. About a month ago, an old friend of mine was flown up to Mayo Clinic to get a surgery he's needed for awhile now. He ended up getting covid on the flight, which was confirmed at the clinic.

Of course I had to laugh about it, cuz I'm a bastard, and if the poor dude didn't have bad luck, he wouldn't have any luck at all. Though I did ask him what his symptoms were while he was suffering from it, and what he described was EXACTLY what I went through earlier this year.

It all started with an incredibly sore throat that felt like someone ran a woodchipper on my tonsils. That went away within 24 hours, and I was left with the sniffles and a low grade fever for the next three days. Besides the sore throat, the worst thing about it was the fatigue. Didn't lose my sense of taste or smell, didn't have any trouble breathing, and didn't experience any of the other tale-tell symptoms of covid.

The two home tests I took looked like they came up negative, but did have the faintest of faint lines that I dismissed as just being there. The more professional test, which was still the swab, though the results were sent to a lab, came up negative as well.

At first, I thought it was a rough cold. But with my symptoms matching others, and all these stories about false negatives floating around, I can't help but wonder.