HuffPost: The Most Common COVID Symptoms Doctors Are Seeing in Fall 2023
HuffPost recently interviewed infectious disease specialist Jonathan Grein, MD, director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai, about COVID-19 symptoms patients are currently experiencing. The cold-like symptoms include congestion, runny nose, sore throat and a dry cough.
“I think the good news is most patients we’re seeing with COVID seem to have milder and upper respiratory symptoms,” Grein told HuffPost.
He said that because the symptoms—which also can include headaches and body aches, fatigue and fever—overlap with those of the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a COVID-19 test can help determine the culprit.
“There’s no indication that the current tests available are less likely to pick up the newer variants compared to what we’ve seen before,” Grein told HuffPost.
Grein said that loss of taste and smell—telltale signs of COVID-19 that were common early in the pandemic—are less so now.
He told HuffPost that pneumonia is a less common complication, too, but patients sometimes still develop it, “typically in people that are either not vaccinated or have other underlying health issues.”
Experts agree that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 helps people stay healthy. They also recommend that adults age 60 and older and infants up to 8 months old get the RSV vaccine, and that people age 6 months and older get a flu shot.
And as always, they note that washing hands, masking and staying home when sick are important safety reminders, especially during the fall and winter seasons.
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