These Are the Symptoms of the Omicron Variant, South African Doctor Says

Angelique Coetzee, a doctor with a private practice in Pretoria and chair of the South African Medical Association (SAMA), told The Telegraph that so far Omicron cases seem to present with strange but mild symptoms. "Their symptoms were so different and so mild from those I had treated before," she said.

Most of the Omicron patients Coetzee has treated arrived "feeling so tired," making intense fatigue the most consistent symptom that's been reported. On the other hand, none of these patients suffered from loss of taste or smell, which has been one of the tell-tale COVID symptoms up to this point.

In terms of other surprising symptoms, Coetzee told The Telegraph, "We had one very interesting case, a kid, about six-years-old, with a temperature and a very high pulse rate, and I wondered if I should admit her, but when I followed up two days later she was so much better."

Coetzee has stressed that it's too early to make any larger predictions about what an Omicron wave would mean for the world - and if we'll even reach that point. In an interview with The Guardian, she reiterated that the cases she's seen have been mild, but acknowledged that it's too soon to know for sure if that will hold for a broader spectrum of Omicron infections.

"It's all speculation at this stage. It may be it's highly transmissible, but so far the cases we are seeing are extremely mild," Coetzee said. "Maybe two weeks from now I will have a different opinion, but this is what we are seeing. So are we seriously worried? No. We are concerned and we watch what's happening. But for now we're saying, 'OK, there's a whole hype out there. [We're] not sure why.'"

Exactly what I’ve been thinking.

I’ve been on overseas assignments before, had some nasty bugs, Doc here at home says “just a local virus you hadn’t been exposed to before, no biggie”.

Now they’re Rat party clubs to brain us with.

I had COVID and didn’t lose taste or smell. I tested negative for antibodies, but I’m immune suppressed and don’t make them.

Before anyone says, “It was the flu!”, I get the flu EVERY year, without fail. That wasn’t the flu. I didn’t get pneumonia, but I felt like an elephant was on my chest, and my O2 dropped to 95. That has never happened with the flu before with me, in my near 20 years of immunosuppression.

My nose ran NON-STOP, and I couldn’t stop sneezing for two days. Literally, I’d get a five minute break and sneeze fifteen+ times right in a row. That hasn’t happened with me before. It got so bad I almost couldn’t catch my breath.

I was also puking with the runs, and having both at the same time is horrific for someone who is already chronically ill and struggling to remain hydrated. I had to sleep sitting up to avoid heartburn from all of the acid, and thank God my bathroom is right next to my bedroom.

The pain; my God. My whole body ached, poured sweat, and my joints were on fire. Again, never happened with the flu with me. My lymph nodes, three in my neck and one in my left arm (where I already have pain from previous nerve damage) near the bicep were all swollen and painful. One submandibular node on my left grew to around 5cm after “vaccination”, then grew incredibly sore when I got sick.

Oh, and my teeth all hurt like a motherfvcker, and Orajel only lasted for a few minutes. NOT the flu.

Several of my doctors said they also knew people with COVID symptoms, one a long-hauler, and who tested negative for antibodies; but we know they’re not permanent.

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