Anyone had American Covid yet?

[Slightyamusedandsilly]

Or more precisely the XFG variant / the Stratus strain.

I've heard it's nastier than the dumbed down covid I've had the last couple of times.

Why is covid still a thing in 2026?

Hmm, maybe because you can’t “mind over matter” that covid is just a cold. Sure, it may feel like a cold, or feel like nothing, or kill you, or just destroy your health or increase your risk of an array of health issues. In 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026. No need to take my word for it, or social media, or MSM, or ONS or annual GP surveys. There are about half a million research articles available on covid. Have a look at some top tier journals or studies. Have a look at the economic research too £12bn in the U.K. on the annual economic fallout of long covid.

For poster who asked about tests - Amazon, supermarkets, chemists.

I test because I know what covid is capable of whether that’s to a person who is “vulnerable” or healthy. Colds don’t make previously healthy children exchange education and activities for a wheelchair (on good days), they don’t make athletes surrender their sport, or parents no longer able to parent, or people who’ve spent years building a career or business jack it in, or a husband/wife/parent become a carer, or make showering a momentous feat, or have to give up their sex life.

The oh so mild Omicron era? The number of children with long covid doubled between 2023 and 2024, averaging 1,000 new long cases a week.

What exactly do the “covid is just a cold” people think has changed about covid? The chances of long covid increase with each infection.

I have it currently. Genuinely feel dreadful, I only tested because my friend did and I was curious. The line came up immediately.

It seems to be very contagious as a group of us went out and over half of us are now ill.

We have stiff necks (I know…), complete lack of taste and many of us are being sick or have terrible nausea on top. We are all off work and confined to our beds, including the big strapping men in the group.

0/10 - wouldn’t recommend 🤣

I have Covid now, confirmed by a LF test.
I feel very achey and fluey, sinuses hurt, glands hurt but no worse than usual covid for me.

What's changed for me is that my workplace doesn't offer any exemptions for covid (probably in common with most workplaces). If I'm off sick with it then it goes on my sickness absence record. I can't just isolate if I happen to feel under the weather with a bit of a cold but actually test positive, and I can't work from home. I go to work unless I'm really, really ill and it might be covid or it might not, but the outcome is still the same.

An "ordinary cold" can land me in hospital. And resulted in several hospital stays for my son when he was younger . They shouldnt be dismissed

I understand that. My post was directed at the “covid is just a cold” people. I know some employees are put in awful positions, especially those that have previously seen the impact of that on a family member, colleague or patient of theirs. I know that for various reasons some can’t wear a mask. Many can, but won’t when covid positive, which is their prerogative, but I wish they’d own that, rather than implying that covid is just a cold.

Not sure, but I was really crook a couple of weeks ago – hot-feeling face, too-sensitive skin, swimming head. Then it turned into what felt like a cold with streaming nose and sneezing. All accompanied by gastric/bowel issues, not to put too fine a ponit on it.
Eventually went to the GP and apparently didn't have a temperature, although I still felt too hot.
I can't tell any more what's a cold or Covid or perimenopause.

I'm not dismissing an ordinary cold. All I'm saying is that my current symptoms do not match those which you might expect from a cold. It is other people who are not only dismissing cold symptoms, but are also minimising Covid and saying it is now just another virus like cold and flu, and we shouldn't be bothering with testing for it.

Really? 🤦‍♀️ Just fuck off with your sanctimonious ‘ohhh who still tests for Covid, it’s JUST a cold!’ bullshit! It’s not ‘just a cold’!

I feel for those of you who are ill or who have had Covid recently. Acute Covid is certainly grim and I hope you feel better soon.

Imagine the fatigue you've experienced, the pain, the brain fog, headaches, feeling flu-like etc etc never went away? That's Long Covid (or one presentation of it).

Please remember how awful you felt, when you hear Long Covid being talked about. It's not people feeling a bit tired and under the weather. It can be life-changing. It was for me. Five years in and I'm still unable to work, drive, cook, look after my children properly, think clearly.

That's why Covid is not just a cold. Some people are fine yes, but for a proportion, one infection can ruin your life. And it's Russian Roulette every time, even if you were fine the last time.

We have luckily kid we’re only ill for 2-3 days , took me 1 week to get over it .

I am just recovering from this. Like the poster above, at first I thought it was an allergy- then it really ramped up with the exhaustion, streaming nose and nausea. The only thing I could stomach was oxtail soup!
I should have tested as I am immuno-compromised but was too unwell to go to the pharmacy, ironically

I'm pretty sure I have it. Feel bloody awful, sore throat, coughing until I pee myself, headache, oh I could go on .
Feeling very sorry for myself as I live alone, nights are particularly difficult.

This thread is giving me deja vu and not in a good way.
The smug, sneery "who tests for covid it's just a cold" brigade.
If you're lucky enough to be super healthy and have no vulnerable family then good for you but why do you feel the need to try and put down those of us who aren't in that situation?
When covid came around first time I was just undergoing chemo for breast cancer, my mum died in march 2020 and I was (still am) on immune suppression. If you saw me you wouldn't know because the drugs work. However infections of any kind hit me hard. Covid had me in hospital for two weeks and unable to walk for three months. I was fine after, no long covid thankfully and I've had it twice since anti virals came out. I still test because that fear of going back to that time is horrible and anti viral drugs are time critical.

I actually had sepsis in January and was very lucky. This covid showed signs of bringing back the issue that caused that and so I am very very pleased I tested, spotted signs of the previous illness, went to my amazing GP and got drugs straight away. It's not the same for everyone and I feel absolutely dreadful. My immune system has been weakened by the bloody sepsis, added to which I work with vulnerable people daily, so if I want to test I will.

I wasn't well a fortnight ago, it was definitely covid I am not up on the new strains or whatever, I am better now but felt awful for 10 days before I started to feel better.

Eta I didn't test but I could tell it was covid.

Pretty sure I have it at the moment. Several colleagues have been off, all with the same symptoms (mild cold but crushing fatigue, fog and dizziness). I'm generally fit and able, can't currently stay vertical for more than about 30 minutes. Head swimming.

I had confirmed flu in the spring, positive swab, and this feels worse.

Can't get hold of a test as chemists are currently sold out.

Yeah there's been a bout of something going around our school community - all the kids are coughing, spluttering 😷

I got a positive straight away. We test if we suspect covid due to a family member with compromised immunity.

I'm curious about this. I'm still recouperating on day 15 of the worse virus I've ever had, with the defining feature of this strain, laryngitis. I didn't test until a few days in to my DH contracting it. No wonder I tested negative, but so did he, was was about day 3 or 4 when we tested. Google says current tests will catch this as it's an omicron variant, so I must conclude that we have not had it. I had to cancel my flu shot as I was too ill. I will be chasing flu and covid vaccinations asap.

OK - but your situation isn’t the norm. Why are regular people who aren’t compromised or in close contact with those who are, testing for it?

I don't think every healthy person needs to establish which respiratory virus they've caught. If the result won't change their behaviour, treatment or precautions around vulnerable people, there is no practical benefit. In my experience, we have moved away from treating the word covid as if it automatically denotes an exceptional medical emergency.

How are we going to cope with the next pandemic?

It’s gone through my entire household. Poor DD ended up in hospital on oxygen as she’s medically vulnerable and I still don’t have normal lung function or any energy two weeks after the bug.

I suspect I had it but not tested or diagnosed. I don’t really suffer with urti’s but it’s been a bugger to shake off, especially the cough.

Probably just as we did the last one - by dying in large number. Let's hope the next one doesnt target the kids eh?