Dr Amir has described five Omicron symptoms and how to spot them on ITV’s Lorraine. These symptoms were first reported in South Africa, where patients with Omicron are currently being treated.
The doctor described the night sweats as “drenching”. They might also prompt you to get up and change your clothes.
He added it’s crucial for everyone, including the NHS, to keep on top of the appearing symptoms.
Dr Amir noted: “Because if we are going to keep track on Omicron here and worldwide, we need to be able to test people with these symptoms.
“So if they go onto the NHS website and say well I’ve got night sweats and muscle aches, they might not be able to book a PCR test.”
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“We need the NHS website to keep up with these symptoms so people can book a PCR test and we can keep track of number and symptoms,” he added.
The doctor also shared that preliminary evidence suggests Omicron may be “milder” compared to other variants.
This is backed by a study from South Africa published yesterday, looking at 200,000 patients that tested positive for Covid.
Some of these participants had the Delta variant, while others had Omicron.
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Dr Amir explained: “What they found was that two doses of the Pfizer vaccines offer around 70 percent protection against hospitalisation from Omicron.
“That’s down from 90 percent when it’s against Delta.
“But they also found, in that population group, 29 percent fewer hospital admissions, so that is why they are saying, perhaps, this gives milder symptoms.
“Because not many have ended up in hospital,” the doctor added.
However, Dr Amir also stressed this research needs to be treated with caution as it’s “very early” data.
“Even if we had a 29 percent reduction in hospital admissions, because Omicron is so transmissible, we will get more people infected, more hospital admissions in the long run.
“Remember, South Africa has a younger population… but we still have a population here who are older. We’ve got immuno-compromised people as well. It is really dangerous.
“Covid affects the disadvantaged, people from socially-deprived backgrounds and people from minority backgrounds more.”
He concluded: “So, I would treat this information with caution. Just be really careful right now.”
Source: Daily Express
