Allergy symptoms could indicate COVID infection

ALBANY – It’s almost time for the inevitable fall sniffling and sneezing season. But when those seasonal symptoms are accompanied by body aches, fever or even diarrhea, it’s probably not your usual allergic reaction to pollen.

When those additional symptoms are part of the mix, it’s time to test for COVID-19, Dr. Derek Heard, the medical director for the Phoebe Physicians Group, said.

The latest predominant strain of COVID is more akin to original COVID, with more cold- or flu-like ailments of runny nose, coughing and sneezing, Heard said. While the variant is not causing an increase in hospitalizations and deaths, the disease is not going away.

“A lot of people are thinking it’s just my allergies acting up because it corresponds with ragweed season,” Heard said. “If you have some of the other symptoms, then it’s important you get tested.”

For the year, some 2% of all deaths in the United States were due to COVID, the physician said.

For the week ending Sept. 7, 2.3% of deaths in the country were COVID-related, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the previous week that number was 2.5%.

Flu and other common respiratory diseases tend to spike in the winter, but COVID seems to have its own schedule, Heard said.

“It’s not that seasonal, but we see spikes,” he said. “Every year there is a fall spike, a summer spike and a winter spike

The latest vaccines target newer variants, and that will offer protection going into the winter and during the holiday season, especially for those who have not had a vaccine recently and thus have less protection, Heard said.

“It’s still recommended for everyone 6 months and older to get a vaccine,” he said. “It’s kind of like we do with the flu vaccine every year; we’re probably going to be getting a new COVID vaccine every year. The only thing is the vaccines are changing. You want to stay up to date with the newest variant that’s out.”

Individuals who are more at risk, including those with underlying health conditions, particularly should consider getting vaccinated, the physician said. The CDC has said it it safe to get both the flu and COVID vaccines at the same time, which can make the process more convenient.

Individuals are still being hospitalized, and studies show that the more times a person is infected with COVID the greater the potential of developing long COVID, the physician said.

Long COVID is something that Heard has not only treated but is dealing with himself. His symptoms include fatigue and brain fog.

“I have only had COVID twice, but I was in that high-risk group,” he said. “For me personally, I’m recovering right now. Sometimes my heart rate will go up. I have fatigue walking up and down stairs.

“Because this is a novel virus, we don’t know what the long-term effects are going to be. We’re still trying to get the long-term data.”

That COVID is still responsible for 2% of deaths nationwide and the recurring spikes show that it is still to be taken seriously, and vaccines could have prevented much of that suffering, Heard said.

“That’s not as high as it was, but it’s 2% who could have had a preventable disease or one not as severe,” he said.

Those looking to avoid COVID also should consider wearing a face mask when the disease spikes or when they are around individuals who are exhibiting COVID symptoms, Heard said.

“That might be the time not to have long conversations with someone who is having symptoms,” he said. “As much as we hope and pray we were not going to have to keep dealing with COVID .. it is now endemic.”

Special Photo: Phoebe