PARENTS should keep an eye out for an unusual Omicron symptom in kids, a doctor warned.
Signs of the variant in adults have been well documented now we are a month into the outbreak, but children’s symptoms are less clear.
It comes as a string of hugely positive studies show Omicron IS milder than other strains, with the first official UK report revealing the risk of hospitalisation is 50 to 70 per cent lower than with Delta.
Covid booster jabs, being offered to all adults in the UK, protect against Omicron and offer the best chance to get through the pandemic, health officials have repeatedly said.
Trending In The News’s Jabs Army campaign is helping get the vital extra vaccines in Brits’ arms to ward off the need for any new restrictions.
As infections continue to rise, a GP from London said he has seen younger kids getting rashes while battling the new variant.
Dr David Lloyd said he had seen about 15 per cent of youngsters with confirmed Omicron cases developing spots.
They also suffered with fatigue, headaches and a loss of appetite – which seems to fit with the most common variant symptoms reported so far in adults.
The health expert told Sky News the difference in symptoms was “quite important”, along with the rash.
The doctor added: “So let’s hope that it isn’t as deadly as the Delta and let’s hope that we can get on top of it. But it’s a concerning time.”
Dr Lloyd said “we’re starting to learn a little more about the virus”.
He said: “We’ve always had a small cohort of patients with Covid who are getting funny rashes, but up to 15 per cent of the Omicron children are getting an unusual rash.”
Read our Omicron variant live blog for the latest news
It comes after experts have warned Covid cases could be missed as people are looking for the wrong symptoms.
At present, the NHS says the three main symptoms to look out for include a new persistent cough, a loss of taste and smell and a high temperature.
But experts at the ZOE Symptom Track app study say most people aren’t presenting with any of the classic signs.
Data from the app shows people who catch the Omicron variant usually present with symptoms within 48 hours of catching the bug.
These include a runny nose, dry/scratchy throat, headache, fatigue and sneezing.
Lower back pain, muscle aches and night sweats are also key symptoms, and the lead on the study, King’s College London’s Professor Tim Spector, said people need to be aware that this has turned into a more ‘cold-like’ illness.
Alongside the worry of being infected with Covid, most people are likely to suffer with a cold during the winter months, so it can be confusing knowing which it could be.
Speaking to Trending In The News, virologist and Professor of Molecular Oncology, Professor Lawrence Young said that Brits should be using lateral flow tests to our advantage and ‘flow before we go’.
He said: “There does seem to be an overlap with cold symptoms and there is an estimation from data from ZOE that a quarter of people who have colds actually have Covid.
“They do overlap but it seems that the onset of a cold is a bit more gradual. But with Omicron people get headaches and fatigue rapidly if they have Covid.”
Early data shows that a booster jab pushes efficacy against infection back up to 75 per cent.
Dr Jenny Harries, UKHSA Chief Executive said: “Once again, we urge everyone who is able to get a booster jab to come forward and do so. It is the best defence we have against this highly transmissible new variant.”
