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A nurse in Düren: working on the attack
Photo: Thomas Banneyer / dpa
The Omikron variant combines two apparently opposing properties: It is probably less dangerous for the individual than its predecessor, the Delta variant.
For society, however, it is more dangerous because the virus is so contagious that experts expect the hospitals to be overloaded due to the sheer number of cases.
At least those who have received a third vaccination can hope for a mild or moderate course in the worst case, despite the threatening scenarios.
But what exactly do these terms mean?
There are clear definitions for this in medicine.
Severe course: only in the case of severe pneumonia
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) differentiates in a paper between asymptomatic infections, mild or moderate illnesses, serious illnesses and critical illnesses.
The institute is based on a guideline of the World Health Organization (WHO).
A
course is considered to be
asymptomatic
if a Sars-CoV-2 infection has been detected in a person but they do not develop any symptoms.
In this case, one does not speak of Covid sufferers, but only of infected people, since there is no disease.
It becomes more complicated with a
mild or moderate illness
.
It actually means that those affected develop symptoms, but none that apply to a serious illness.
Anyone who becomes slightly or moderately ill can still suffer from a variety of symptoms.
These include taste and smell disorders, fever, diarrhea, cough, a stuffy nose and fatigue.
Only those who develop severe pneumonia are
seriously ill with Covid-19
. The framework conditions for this are precisely defined: In a closed room, the oxygen saturation in the blood must drop below 90 to 94 percent (the WHO only counts severe courses when the oxygen saturation is below 90 percent). Another requirement for adults is a breathing rate of more than 30 breaths per minute. It shows that the body is trying to make up for the lack of oxygen. In addition, the pneumonia must have left such marks on the body that they can be seen on an X-ray.
Anyone who is even more seriously
ill with Covid-19
,
i.e. critically
, their life is in danger.
Those affected experience acute lung failure (ARDS), sepsis, i.e. a life-threatening overreaction of the immune system, or multiple organ failure.
Omicron outbreak in vaccinated people in Norway: cough, fever and more
A current study from Norway gives a small impression of what Covid diseases classified as mild, but it is not representative.
For the study, researchers surveyed more than 80 people who were infected with corona at a Christmas party at the end of November.
The omicron variant was reliably detected in 66, and suspected omicron in 15.
Almost all of them were double-vaccinated, but no one was boosted.
On average, the sick people were 38 years old.
Of the 81 people, only one person developed no symptoms at all, 74 suffered from at least three symptoms.
The most common were coughs (83 percent), followed by a runny nose (78 percent), fatigue (74 percent), sore throat (72 percent), headache (68 percent) and fever (54 percent).
When they were asked to rate the degree of their symptoms on a scale from one (no symptoms) to five (significant symptoms), 42 percent answered with a three, eleven percent even with a four.
Nobody had to go to the hospital.
At the time of the survey, less than a week after the Christmas party, the majority had not yet survived their illness.
How is a severe course noticeable?
In people who develop a severe course, the disease often begins, as in a mild course, with symptoms such as cough or fever. A few days later, however, the condition worsens, causing shortness of breath and a lack of oxygen. The reason for this is that the viruses take some time to travel from the upper respiratory tract to the lungs and cause damage there. If the infection is limited to the upper respiratory tract, it is usually uncomfortable, but harmless.
It is dangerous that a severe Covid course can lead to what is known as silent hypoxia, especially in older people.
Those affected still feel good and have no shortness of breath, even though the oxygen level in their blood is already far too low.
For this reason, it can make sense to monitor the oxygen saturation in the blood or the respiratory rate, especially in high-risk patients with Covid disease.