Even people who have had one or two doses of vaccination can still catch COVID, although it is unlikely to be severe. If you are sneezing a lot and you check COVID 19 symptoms on the NHS web site you’ll be told that a high temperature, a new continuous cough and loss or change to sense of smell or taste are the major symptoms.

If you have any of these you are advised to get a PCR test as soon as possible. But should you relax because you have none of these symptoms?

No, you should not relax! The symptoms and severity of COVID 19 differ according to how many vaccinations you have had, if any. If you have been fully vaccinated your three most likely symptoms of having COVID are headache, runny nose or sneezing.

A high temperature ranks as the twelfth most likely symptom, a persistent cough the eighth and a loss of smell the fifth so it is perfectly possible for you to have none of the “standard” symptoms and yet still have COVID.

Indeed, even if you haven’t been vaccinated, your three most likely symptoms of COVID are headache, sore throat or runny nose, and more like a bad cold according to The ZOE COVID Symptom Study app, a not-for-profit initiative that was launched at the end of March 2020 to support vital COVID 19 research.

The app (Link) has attracted more than 4.6 million contributors who log in on a daily basis to report how they are feeling. It was launched by health science company ZOE with scientific analysis provided by King’s College London.

There are around 1018 contributors in Newham. Others should sign up. It takes a couple of minutes and anyone with non-standard COVID symptoms will be offered a PCR test.

The Government has not so far indicated plans to update its official list of Covid symptoms, despite research indicating the now-dominant Delta variant has more cold-like symptoms. The Department of Health and Social Care admits that COVID 19 has a ‘much longer list of symptoms than the ones initially used in the case definition.’

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