
Nine more COVID-19 symptoms added to list
pharmafile | April 6, 2022 | News story | Research and Development |
Nine new symptoms, including sore throat, fatigue, and headache, have been added to the official list of COVID-19 symptoms on the NHS.
The new symptoms join the three symptoms of a fever, a new and persistent cough, and a loss or change in taste or smell. Extending this list may reap benefits, such as reducing infections by helping people detect whether they may have COVID. However, the end of free COVID-19 LFTs in pharmacies means that people are less likely to test to confirm if they have the virus.
As it stands, almost five million people are estimated to be infected with COVID-19.
The new signs of infection include shortness of breath, feeling tired or exhausted, an aching body, a headache, a sore throat, a blocked or runny nose, loss of appetite, diarrhoea, and feeling sick or being sick.
Up until this point, the UK only had three symptoms on the list, despite other organisations such as WHO and the CDC in the US having longer symptom lists.
Professor Tim Spector, lead scientist of the Zoe COVID-19 symptom tracker app, said in a tweet that the NHS had “finally changed” the symptom list after two years of lobbying. “Pity they have the order wrong, but it’s a start and could help reduce infections,” he said.
In March, Spector said: “Many people are no longer isolating when they have symptoms, either because they feel they don’t have to any more or because they or their employers still don’t recognise symptoms like runny nose or sore throat as COVID-19.”
Lina Adams






