Your ‘summer cold’ could likely be COVID-19, doctors say amid surge

Gayle Robin was amazed erstwhile her sister successful California told her successful early July she had tested affirmative for COVID-19.

“I thought, ‘Really? It’s summer,'” nan trading and communications master said successful an question and reply from St. Catharines, Ont.

About a week later while camping, Robin woke up pinch a sore pharynx and felt achy later successful nan day. She thought it was “a summertime cold.”

“It ne'er moreover occurred to maine that possibly it was COVID,” she said.

When she returned location a mates of days later and was still not emotion well, she decided to return a accelerated antigen test, which was positive.

Since then, Robin’s partner and his family, arsenic good arsenic immoderate of her friends and co-workers successful some Canada and nan U.S., person each had COVID.

“Almost each time I’m proceeding astir personification other who has it aliases knows personification who has it,” she said.

That because “we’re successful nan midst of a summertime activity of COVID,” said Dr. Andrew Pinto, head of nan Upstream Lab, a nationalist wellness investigation squad astatine St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.

In summation to wastewater information that suggests an “upward trajectory” successful COVID-19 activity, Pinto said he is seeing much patients pinch nan microorganism successful his family believe clinic.

”One of nan really unsocial things astir COVID is that it is astonishing america successful ways that different respiratory pathogens haven’t,” he said.

“It is spreading moreover successful nan absence of very acold barren aerial pinch tons of group indoors, which we usually spot pinch respiratory pathogens for illustration influenza and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).”

Dr. Fahad Razak, nan erstwhile technological head of nan Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, said coronaviruses person historically dispersed year-round and don’t travel a seasonal pattern.

Since COVID-19 is still comparatively new, we don’t person nan organization immunity built up that we do for flu and RSV, which person been astir for a agelong time, said Razak, who is besides an soul medicine master astatine St. Michael’s Hospital.

Even though we thin to deliberation of viruses spreading arsenic group crowd together indoors during nan autumn and winter, summertime besides presents opportunities for COVID-19 to spread, he said.

“People thin to get together much socially pinch family. There tends to beryllium much gatherings for illustration concerts, for example,” Razak said.

Just arsenic nan acold forces group indoors during nan winter, nan “blistering basking days” we’ve had this summertime besides nonstop group wrong into air-conditioned spaces, which tin besides summation nan dispersed of nan virus, he said.

Pinto noted that nan summertime activity is besides happening astatine a clip erstwhile individual immunity to COVID-19 infection, which decreases astir six months aft vaccination, is astir apt lower.

”What we’ve seen successful Canada is that location has apt been a play of clip since group were past infected, truthful that immunity has waned and besides a batch of group didn’t get their COVID vaccines this past autumn and winter,” he said.

Although Razak has seen immoderate patients hospitalized pinch COVID-19 complete nan past fewer weeks, those terrible cases are “far, acold rarer now,” he said, acknowledgment to protection against superior unwellness provided by vaccination and anterior infections.

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Still, susceptible group – including seniors and those who are immunocompromised – tin get very sick from COVID, nan doctors say.

That’s 1 of nan reasons it’s important to cognize there’s a bully chance your summertime acold symptoms are really COVID-19, they say.

It’s “good practice” to not expose susceptible group to immoderate respiratory virus, Razak said, but it’s particularly important pinch COVID.

“If I had a caller COVID infection, would I sojourn my parents who are precocious consequence and successful their 70s and 80s? No. I would beryllium observant for a fewer days. I would make judge that my symptoms are resolving, that I don’t person a fever, that I don’t person a cough earlier I went to spot them,” he said.

If you are 60 years aliases older, immunocompromised aliases person chronic underlying conditions specified arsenic diabetes, bosom aliases lung disease, you should see taking nan antiviral supplier Paxlovid to forestall superior COVID-19 illness, Razak said.

That intends getting a COVID trial arsenic soon arsenic possible, arsenic nan medicine must beryllium taken wrong nan first fewer days of infection, he said.

And nary matter what your property aliases wellness status, confirming whether aliases not you person COVID-19 is adjuvant for timing vaccines and maximizing your protection against nan virus, Razak said, since immunization is astir effective astatine slightest 3 months aft your past infection aliases vaccination.

COVID-19 vaccines targeted to precocious circulating variants are successful nan useful for nan fall, nan Public Health Agency of Canada said successful an email to The Canadian Press.

Health Canada is reviewing mRNA vaccines that target nan KP.2 strain, arsenic good arsenic macromolecule subunit vaccines – which incorporate harmless and purified pieces of nan microorganism – that target nan JN.1 strain, nan agency said.