The delta variant of Covid-19 may have milder and typically non-virus-associated symptoms that some might mistake for an allergy or other common illness. This was reiterated by Louisiana state health officer Joe Kanter, noting however that the mutation of the virus still maintains its usual symptoms such as cough, fever and shortness of breath.
Kanter is seeing many patients who have symptoms that appear to be common diseases, such as sinus congestion, runny nose, and sore throat. “Relatively mild symptoms that can easily be confusing, but which could be signs that patients have the Delta variant,” he told Audac. “If you have any symptoms, no matter how mild, even if it’s a sore throat, runny nose or sinus congestion, it’s best to go for a test and limit contact with other people until the result,” he added.
As previously reported by Changing America, according to researchers from the ZOE COVID Symptom Study, excessive sneezing can also be a symptom of the Delta variant. “Our data shows that people who were vaccinated and then tested positive were more likely to report sneezing as a symptom than those without the vaccine,” the researchers wrote.
Changing America also notes that Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are approximately 95% effective against symptomatic Covid; Johnson & Johnson is around 66%.