Doctors seeing variety of symptoms in positive COVID-19 cases
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Local doctors say symptoms for COVID-19 seem to be all over the board right now. That is why they say even if someone doesn’t think they have the virus, they should get tested to be safe.
“What we’re seeing today is that symptomatic people who are getting checked for COVID are coming back positive at a very high rate,” Dr. Christopher Doehring, vice president of medical affairs for Franciscan Health, said.
Doehring says for many people, those symptoms just feel like the common cold or even allergies, which is a little different from what people told to watch out for in the beginning.
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Now, Doehring says, on top of body aches, chest pain, fever and loss of taste and smell, sneezing and congestion can also be symptoms of the virus and more specifically the omicron variant.
“Those are all very non-specific symptoms and they could all be COVID. What we’re learning about the omicron is overall, the symptoms tend to be milder maybe and a little more like the common cold,” Doehring said.
He says while omicron may not be as severe as other variants, it does seem to be spreading much faster.
“You can still get very seriously ill even from the omicron variant, so, it’s very important to stay attuned to your symptoms. This thing is so contagious, the omicron variant seems to be even more contagious than the delta variant, which was already super easy to spread,” Doehring said.
Many testing and vaccination sites are extending hours and to help keep up with the demand. That includes the site at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which state health officials announced would now be open through Jan. 22.