#ba.5

The ZOE Covid Study app allows infected people to report their symptoms while suffering from the virus.

The data provided is then analysed by King’s College London researchers who track infections across the UK, as well as identifying who is most at risk and where high-risk areas are.

Almost 58 per cent of all Covid patients who used the app reported suffering a sore throat before returning positive tests.

A headache, blocked nose and cough were reported as the next most common symptoms.

Professor Tim Spector, who leads the Zoe Health Study app, said: “Covid is still rampant in the population. ZOE Health Study data shows that there were over 350,000 daily Covid cases this week – a new record for the UK.

“So much so, that if you have any cold-like symptoms at the moment it’s nearly twice as likely to be Covid as a cold.

“Even if people have had a past infection and are fully vaccinated, people are still catching it.

“Although we all want to make the most of the good weather, people will need to decide for themselves whether going to large events, working from the office or using busy public transport is worth the risk.”

Not hard to add in between the lines: "...in spite of the absolute politicized idiocy of current policy." 🙄

There’s a trend for experts who’ve yet to test positive for COVID-19 to explain their disease virginity on social media, detailing all the steps they’ve taken to evade the increasingly pervasive virus.

COVID-19 virginity is becoming more special now that it describes a shrinking minority. The lucky few, like weight-loss gurus, are only too happy to share their secrets to success.

Some sound quite reasonable, such as virologist Angela Rasmussen, who tweeted that despite resuming travel to scientific conferences, she’s remained uninfected by wearing high quality masks when warranted, skipping the hotel gym, eating outdoors and walking instead of cabbing if possible.

Others are more extreme, such as the expert who Tweeted that, among other measures, he sealed his N95 tightly on his face for the entire trip from the U.S. to Australia. He never removed it even to take a sip of water.

But one piece of advice almost no one is giving? Be lucky. Pediatrician Neil Stone says that there’s no “secret” for staying COVID-19 free because there’s just too much luck involved.

He has a point. And indeed, UCSF oncologist and epidemiologist Vinay Prasad told me he “did everything wrong” and still hasn’t had COVID-19. He’s like those people who stay skinny while eating all kinds of junk food.

As for me, I have some data that can, to an extent, quantify and explain my own good luck in avoiding COVID-19 so far. I’m participating in a study on immunity which allowed me to learn that my blood still carries loads of antibodies induced by my vaccine and December booster shot and no signs of any prior infection. Not everyone’s antibodies wane at the same rate, and in some people, the antibodies don’t wane much at all. (At some point it should become routine to collect this information to help people decide whether to get additional booster shots.)