With each new subvariant of COVID, scientists have said that a loss of a sense of smell has become less and less common, but Chicago’s top doctor says that patients can still experience issues if they contract the virus.
Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said during an availability Tuesday that loss of smell occurs in less than one-in-five cases involving omicron subvariants of COVID, but warned that it’s still a possible issue that patients could have to deal with.
“It’s not necessarily the most common symptom, but especially if somebody’s never had COVID, you absolutely can lose your sense of smell with omicron, just like you can with all of the other variants that have come before,” she said.
Arwady cited recent studies published in the British Medical Journal that showed approximately 13-to-16% of patients lost their sense of smell or taste when they were diagnosed with COVID, and said that the study was conducted during the height of the omicron surge in cases.
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She compared that with a 44% rate while the delta variant was dominant.
She said that those patients who do lose their sense of taste or smell typically recover it, but the amount of time it takes for those senses to rebound can vary widely by patient.
“People typically do recover their sense of smell and taste, but it can take a while for it to come back,” she warned.
News
According to a May study cited by NBC News, the loss of smell has become progressively less common as a symptom with each new variant of the virus. With the alpha variant, patients were half as likely to experience that symptom, while that percentage dropped to 44% with the delta wave.
Even with studies suggesting that COVID symptoms overall are less severe with omicron than with previous iterations of the virus, Arwady says that those experiencing illness can still expect to feel sick with the virus.
“People have a wide range of symptoms from mild to severe,” she said. “We see symptoms appearing with omicron more quickly after exposure to the virus, often just two-to-three-to-four days later.”
Another study indicated that patients could see different symptoms depending on whether or not they are fully vaccinated against the virus.
Those who are tended to report a sore throat more often than any other symptom, followed by a runny or a blocked-up nose, persistent cough, and headache.
Vaccinated patients also reported sneezing more frequently as a symptom than those who are unvaccinated, the study found.
Those who are unvaccinated reported headaches as their most common symptom, followed by a sore throat, runny nose, fever, and persistent cough.
