The number of COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom is going up again, according to government data.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported an estimated total of 989,800 people in the UK that contracted the disease in the week ending June 2, which is a jump from the previous week's number of 953,900, according to National World.
This is the first time overall infections have increased week on week since the peak of the Omicron BA.2 wave in late March when the number reached a record 4.9 million.
The newer BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron variants, which were recently recognized as "variants of concern" by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), are likely to be blamed for the surge in infections.
Both variants have a "growth advantage" over BA.2 and a degree of "immune escape," which means the immune system can no longer recognize or fight a virus, according to the UKHSA. This is likely to contribute to their growth advantage over BA.2.
BA.4 and BA.5 are not known to be any more harmful than other COVID-19 strains, but they seem to be more contagious and can infect patients who have recently contracted another Omicron variant.
According to a study published in The Lancet journal, the Omicron variant is less likely to induce Long COVID symptoms.
Experts define Long COVID as having symptoms for four weeks or more. Depending on age and time since vaccination, the researchers discovered that the probabilities of suffering from Long COVID were 20-50 % lower during the Omicron period compared to the Delta period.
Mint reported that one in every 23 patients who had Omicron can experience COVID-19 symptoms lasting more than four weeks, according to lead author Claire Steves of King's College London, UK.
Steves also noted that Omicron seems to be "substantially less likely to cause Long COVID than previous variants."
Even patients who have had three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are not resistant to contracting the virus again, according to health experts, albeit the symptoms should be less severe.
Omicron Infection Symptoms In Fully Vaccinated Individuals
To help the public in detecting infection, researchers in Norway determined crucial Omicron symptoms that are most common among persons fully vaccinated.
They identified eight symptoms of infection in those who had been twice jabbed, according to the findings published in the medical journal Eurosurveillance.
As per a report from The Independent, public health experts identified the following COVID-19 Omicron Variant symptoms most common among fully vaccinated individuals:
- a persistent cough
- runny nose
- fatigue
- sore throat
- headache
- muscle pain
- fever
- sneezing
- nausea
Coughs, runny noses, and exhaustion were the most prevalent symptoms among the vaccinated ones while sneezing and fever were the least common.
According to Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a private practitioner and chair of the South African Medical Association, fatigue was one of the prominent symptoms of the COVID-19 Omicron Variant when it emerged in South Africa.
US COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout For Kids Under 5 Begins
Meanwhile, CNN reported that COVID-19 immunization for children under five will begin across the United States on Tuesday, marking a significant measure forward in the fight against the infection.
Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations for Moderna's vaccine to accommodate children aged six months to 17 years, and for Pfizer/vaccine BioNTech's to include kids aged six months to 4 years.
Then, on Saturday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approved the COVID-19 vaccine for children five years old and below.
The measure will benefit around 17 million children under the age of 5.
