What are the similarities between allergy and omicron, and what are their respective symptoms that might help us differentiate them?

And how many are still waiting to receive the first dose of the Corona vaccine?

Is the covid epidemic over?

How do you differentiate between the symptoms of Omicron and allergy?

Some symptoms of spring allergy are similar to the omicron version, making it difficult to differentiate between them.

Allergic rhinitis, also known as hay fever, is one of the most common allergies in the spring.

With the approach of spring, many suffer from "spring allergies", the symptoms of which appear in coughing, difficulty breathing, and others.

With some of these symptoms similar to the symptoms of infection with the Omicron version of the Corona virus, some people are confused in determining the nature of the disease, and is it related to allergies or corona?

The following are the most prominent differences in symptoms between the two diseases, according to what Deutsche Welle quoted from the German Omenda website, which specializes in health:

Runny nose

Having a cold and a runny nose is one of the common symptoms between allergies and Omicron, and to be certain that you do not have corona in this case, it is recommended to constantly do Corona tests and also pay attention to other symptoms of allergies.

For people with allergies, they should investigate the time when the pollen that causes allergies appears, and take the usual medication, and if the situation does not improve, the doctor should be consulted to take the appropriate treatment and make sure that corona is not infected.

Headache

Headache is one of the symptoms that usually appear at the beginning of infection with the omicron version of the Corona virus.

It may also be accompanied by pain in the joints and extremities of the body.

These symptoms rarely appear in people with allergies, according to the German Federation of Allergy and Asthma.

bout of sneezing

An attack of sneezing and the constant feeling of wanting to sneeze is one of the symptoms that accompanies the Omicron version, unlike other previous versions of the Corona virus.

These symptoms also appear in people with spring allergies, which makes it difficult to differentiate between the two diseases here.

shortness of breath

Shortness of breath is a common symptom of Omicron and allergy-induced asthma.

While a spray that usually contains cortisone is used to facilitate breathing in case of allergies, it is advised, in case of shortness of breath due to corona, to contact the hospital and seek advice.

itchy eyes

Itchy eyes are a common symptom of allergic disease, and rarely occur in the case of Omicron.

If the itchy eyes are accompanied by a bout of sneezing, it is a sign of allergy.

Eye drops, for example, help relieve these symptoms.

High temperature

High body temperature is a common symptom of Omicron virus infection, and it is rare for allergy sufferers.

Therefore, it is recommended during the emergence of high body temperature, along with other symptoms, to do a corona test to be sure.

Doctors advise that “spring allergy” should also be taken seriously, not just Corona, as the doctor can determine the type of allergy and give the appropriate medication to alleviate the symptoms.

Mental health is deteriorating in France

After two years of the crisis, the mental health of employees is still “very deteriorating” with continued “extremely severe” fatigue and “epidemic fatigue”, according to a survey conducted by the Opinion Way polling institute published on Wednesday and quoted by the French Press Agency as part of its coverage of the latest developments in Corona in the world. .

The survey showed that 41% of the employees surveyed suffer from "psychological distress," including 13% of them suffering from severe distress.

The most affected are women and young people under the age of 29.

More than a third of employees (34%) suffer from burnout, including 13% of severe fatigue, or 2.5 million people.

Pfizer begins studying children's anti-corona pills

Pfizer announced Wednesday that it has begun a study on its anti-Coronavirus pills for children who are not hospitalized, aged 6 to 17 years, who are at risk of serious illness.

The company's "Paxlovid" tablets are authorized for emergency use in the United States for children 12 years of age or older or adults at risk.

But there are no anti-coronavirus oral medications that are approved in the United States for younger children.

The drug company plans to include 240 children in the study in two groups for children aged 6 to 17 years.

The first includes children whose weight is not less than 40 kilograms, and the second is for children whose weight ranges between 20 and 40 kilograms.

“Since the pandemic began, more than 11 million children under the age of 18 in the United States have been infected with the coronavirus alone, and this represents 18% of the cases that have been recorded, resulting in more than 100,000 cases entering the the hospital".

Pfizer said Wednesday that it was also working on developing age-adjusted formulations of the drug for sick children under 6 years old, and would start introducing 3 groups of children under 6 years old once the modified formula became available.


The covid epidemic is not over yet

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned Wednesday that "this epidemic is not over yet", two years after the declaration of the pandemic, which made the whole world aware of the seriousness of the health crisis caused by the Corona virus.

"This Friday marks two years since the spread of COVID-19 around the world was declared a pandemic," Ghebreyesus said during a press conference in Geneva.

"Two years later, more than 6 million people have died," he added.

And while the World Health Organization indicated that the number of infections and deaths had decreased, however, "this epidemic is not over yet and will not disappear anywhere unless it ends in all parts of the world," according to the director of the organization.

Corona continues to evolve

The World Health Organization has monitored a sharp increase in new infections and deaths in the Western Pacific region, despite their global decrease by 5 and 8%, respectively, according to the weekly epidemiological report.

"The virus continues to evolve and we still face significant hurdles in getting vaccines, tests and treatments to those who need them," Ghebreyesus stressed.

Tests - which can detect new mutated versions - are a concern of the organization, whose head indicated that "many countries have significantly reduced their tests", warning that this "prevents us from determining where the virus is and how it spreads and evolves."

Thus, South Africa's testing plan allowed the omicron to be detected very quickly at the end of November 2021, before it became dominant.

And Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove - who is responsible for managing the Covid-19 pandemic at the organization - pointed out that "although we are witnessing a lowering of the curve, we recorded 10 million confirmed infections in the world last week."

And she warned that "we have to take precautions" at a time when many countries, in Europe in particular and in the United States, have lifted most of the health measures aimed at curbing the disease.


3 billion people are still waiting

UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that the distribution of vaccines in the world is still marked by "gross inequality".

"Producers make 1.5 billion doses per month, but about 3 billion people are still waiting to receive the first dose of the vaccine," he said.

He spoke of a "failure" resulting from "policy and budget decisions that prioritize the health of the citizens of rich countries over the health of the citizens of poor countries."

Guterres considered that this "constitutes a recipe for more mutations, more closure measures, and more grief and sacrifices in every country."