Doctors: Current COVID Variants Not Causing More Severe Illness, Though Sore Throats Reportedly Worse

Social media posts claiming that COVID-19 infections this season are more severe than in past years have raised alarm, but infectious-disease physicians say the circulating strains are not producing higher rates of severe illness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists Stratus, also known as XFG, as the predominant variant in the United States. Physicians interviewed by HuffPost said Stratus belongs to the Omicron family, which has generally been more transmissible but less likely to cause the hospitalizations and deaths associated with earlier variants.

"These Omicron variants have all had a couple things in common," said Dr. Mark Burns, an associate professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at the University of Louisville. "Number one, they’re highly transmissible, but secondly, they’re not nearly as severe as previous variants have been." Dr. Donald Dumford, an infectious disease physician at Cleveland Clinic Akron General in Ohio, said surveillance data have not shown an unexpected rise in markers of severe infection such as hospitalizations or intensive-care admissions.

Physicians acknowledged that some individuals are experiencing notably unpleasant infections this fall, and that no two COVID infections are identical. Several clinicians and patients have described a particularly intense sore throat — a "razor blade" sensation in the back of the throat — among a subset of recent cases. Burns said sore throat has been part of the COVID symptom picture since early in the pandemic, and a worse sore throat during a reinfection does not necessarily indicate that the virus is intrinsically more severe now.

Common symptoms reported with current infections include cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, fever, muscle aches and chills. Because those signs overlap with influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and common colds, physicians recommend testing for people who develop symptoms so they can isolate appropriately and seek treatment when indicated.

Vaccination remains the primary tool to prevent severe outcomes. Burns urged people to stay up to date with the latest COVID vaccine, noting that guidelines and eligibility have narrowed since last fall; the shots are currently recommended for people 65 and older and for younger people with certain high-risk conditions, though recommendations vary by state. Patients are advised to consult their primary care provider or a pharmacist to confirm eligibility and availability.

Research has shown that COVID vaccination reduces the risk of hospitalization, death and long COVID. Antiviral treatments also exist for persons who test positive and are at increased risk of progression to severe disease; clinicians stressed early testing to determine eligibility for these therapies.

Public-health precautions remain relevant as respiratory viruses circulate broadly. Physicians recommended routine measures such as frequent handwashing, ensuring good indoor ventilation, maintaining distance in crowded settings when appropriate, and wearing an N95 or similar high-filtration mask in crowded indoor spaces for those who are concerned or at high risk.

Dumford emphasized the communal aspect of isolation when ill: although healthy adults often experience mild illness from COVID, flu and RSV, those infections can produce severe outcomes among young children, older adults and other vulnerable populations. "If you have symptoms, you really need to get tested because it’s really difficult to tell" which virus is responsible, he said, and isolating can help prevent transmission to those at higher risk.

Health officials continue to monitor variant trends, hospital utilization and case data to guide recommendations. For now, clinicians say the evidence shows high levels of population immunity and no broad increase in clinical severity from the current Omicron-lineage variants, even as the volume of infections and reports of uncomfortable sore throats draw attention this season.