There are fears of a new Covid summer wave after Superdrug reported a 319% rise in sales of Covid lateral flow tests and a 297% jump in cold and flu relief sachets, hinting at a widespread wave of illness this summer. The health and beauty giant also saw a spike in vitamin sales, with Vitamin D purchases up by 116% and Zinc by 58%, as Brits look to bolster their immune systems amid the seasonal sniffles. The surge comes on the heels of massive gatherings for the Euros and Wimbledon.
And this is sparking concerns over increased transmission. Hospital Covid positivity rates have climbed from 3.72 to 4.
35 per 100,000 in the latest week. That's according to recent data. Mark Woolhouse, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, warned on Sky News: "The waves continue to be driven by a combination of new variants and a partial waning immunity to infection.
" However, distinguishing between Covid and common cold symptoms, which include a sore throat , blocked nose, headache, and cough, remains challenging. Specific symptoms that differentiate Covid from the common cold include: Fever: A high fever is more commonly associated with Covid. Summer colds might cause a mild fever, but it’s typically lower than those in Covid cases.
Loss of taste or smell: Anosmia (loss of taste or smell) is a commonly known symptom of Covid, rarely seen with Summer colds. Fatigue and body aches: Covid often causes extreme fatigue and body aches. While Summer colds can c.