COVID symptoms: Don’t make this mistake with BA.2 variant symptoms

Symptoms from the new omicron variant’s subvariant — named the BA.2 variant— might be mistaken for spring allergies, experts recently told CBS News.

Why it matters: The coronavirus pandemic has hit a lull period in the United States. As spring emerges, the new coronavirus variant symptoms might be mistaken for simple spring allergies.

Driving the news: Dr. Celine Gounder, a clinical assistant professor of medicine and infectious diseases at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, told CBS News that you can’t tell the difference between seasonal allergies and COVID-19.

Symptoms: Gounder said specific symptoms such as the sniffles, a cough or a stuffy nose could all be from COVID-19, the flu or seasonal allergies.

• “So you have those symptoms, just take a test,” she said.

The bigger picture: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently shared a chart that explained how to tell the difference between COVID-19 and seasonal allergies.

The CDC chart said the following symptoms are from COVID-19:

• Fever or chills.
• Cough.
• Body aches.
• Headaches.
• Tiredness.
• Loss of taste or smell.
• Shortness of breath.
• Sore throat.
• Sneezing.
• Itchy or watery eyes.
• Runny or stuffy nose.

Meanwhile, allergy symptoms often include:

• Cough.
• Headaches.
• Tiredness.
• Sore throat.
• Sneezing.
• Itchy or watery eyes.
• Runny or stuffy nose.