Health Dept warns of increase in new Covid-19 infections
General practitioner Dr Angelique Coetzee says several factors could be behind the increase in new Covid-19 infections in South Africa.
The Department of Health says less severe omicron sub-variants has led to an increase in infections in Gauteng, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape.
"There is not yet a new variant that we have been made aware of. However, there are various sub-variants of the omicron variant going around,” says former South Africa Medical Association chairperson Dr Angelique Coetzee.
"It is difficult to say that whether the mild diseases that we are seeing going around is because of the vaccines, or because of the past infections, because we know that the antibodies after about six months start to wean off.
"So, patients that are infected are those who have been vaccinated with their third shot or had Covid before. It is most probably more than just antibodies weaning, it might be genetic predistortions to easier getting infected by Covid, but that hasn't been proven as yet. So, I think it is more than just vaccine related that people do get infected by new sub-variants or not get infected by sub-variants.”
Coetzee says it’s still important to go and get tested should you experience certain symptoms.
"I think it is important that if you have anything like sinus just go get tested, do a PCR if your symptoms are older than 24 hours but less than five days. Otherwise you do a PCR at a lab if it is more than five days, so that we can actually see what is actually going on in different communities and provinces. Then if you have a cold or a flu type of a thing wear a mask to protect yourself and the people around you.
"There is growing evidence that mild Covid also leads to long-term complications like brain fog, muscle spasms that patients might get going forward.”
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