New Covid strain is 'wiping people out', warns GP

The GP says many symptoms overlap and people are being floored by the illness

A new Covid variant is rapidly spreading worldwide and is predicted to become the most dominant. As numerous people share their experiences of contracting coughs, colds, and Covid-like symptoms, a GP from Greater Manchester provided the Manchester Evening News with an insight into what's happening in her practice.

This includes some severe coronavirus symptoms that 'seem to be really wiping people out', differing from the milder effects of previous variants. One of the main challenges for doctors at present, according to Bolton GP Dr Helen Wall, is that many symptoms overlap with a range of illnesses that typically increase as the weather gets colder and children return to school.

However, these illnesses can floor people, and the doctor emphasised one vital measure that could prevent you from being incapacitated for weeks or even hospitalised. Dr Helen Wall, who serves as the clinical director of population health in Greater Manchester, told the M.E.N. that GPs are witnessing an increase in illnesses as the new XEC coronavirus variant spreads.

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"We do see generally a rise in respiratory infections this time of year. There is another Covid variant on the scene which is expected to become the most dominant, and is becoming more prevalent like all the variants before it," reports the Manchester Evening News.

"We don't completely know if it makes it more or less transmissible, I suspect more because they always are. But we don't know what the situation is," she said.

Researchers have identified XEC as a recombinant variant, which emerges when two existing strains merge—this can occur if an individual is infected with both strains at the same time.

XEC is a combination of the KP. 3.3 and KS. 1.1 strains, sharing genetic characteristics with the omicron variant, first detected in South Africa in 2021 and known for its high transmissibility but lower severity compared to previous SARS-CoV-2 strains.

Some researchers have said that 'XEC appears to have a growth advantage and is spreading faster than other circulating variants, suggesting it will become the dominant variant globally in the next few months'. The Bolton GP says she has observed that more recent coronavirus cases appear more flu-like in nature in comparison to past variants. Lately, Covid seems to have been exhausting people so they're 'wiped out'."

"We could well be seeing the new Covid variant in practice," Dr Wall said. "At the moment, it seems to be a bit more flu-like than previous iterations of Covid, with a high temperature, a cough, aching body, headache."

"We're seeing an increase in respiratory infections, you see that every time the weather changes, and there's always a rise when the children go back to school," Dr Wall added. "But whether that's Covid is really difficult to say because a lot of the symptoms blur together with other illnesses that are prevalent at this time of year. Whether it's Covid versus flu is hard to separate."

She added: "People who have the flu tend to be extremely unwell. Sometimes, people say they've got the flu but have actually got a bad cold." Dr Wall continued: "Generally, if you've got true flu, you're bed bound. With Covid, you might actually be quite well. You might be coughing and having other symptoms, but able to go about your business – and you might be unintentionally spreading it to people who are vulnerable."

The decline in testing following the end of widespread testing drives and the cost of lateral flow kits has made it difficult for public health officials to track the exact number of cases and the spread of new strains. Dr Wall noted that the available data is "skewed" as it primarily comes from hospitalised patients who have either fallen severely ill with Covid or contracted it while in hospital for another condition.

Dr Wall has emphasised the importance of vaccinations against what the NHS has termed the 'tripledemic' of winter diseases, especially in the face of insufficient hard data. This season, the NHS is rolling out the new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine along with Covid and flu shots.

Dr Wall also offered advice for those feeling ill, which aligns with familiar recommendations: "It's not like it was during the peak of Covid, but a lot of the general advice remains the same. If you have a high fever, try not to mix with people. If people have elderly relatives or know people who are immunocompromised, I wouldn't be mixing with them if I've got a temperature, or cold or flu-like symptoms."