Latest news with #Covid-related
Scottish Sun
12 hours ago
- Health
- Scottish Sun
Key sign your ‘hay fever' is actually new Covid strain as doctor reveals how to spot different symptoms
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BRITS sneezing through summer could be facing more than just pollen. A new Covid strain is sweeping across the UK, and some of its symptoms are almost identical to hay fever, making it tricky to tell which one you've got. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Covid often leaves people feeling drained and seriously unwell, while hay fever – annoying as it is – tends to be milder Credit: Getty The warning comes as the Met Office reports "very high" pollen levels across much of the country, while health officials confirm a near 10 per cent rise in Covid-related hospital admissions in England. Areas like London, Manchester, and Birmingham are particularly affected. Hay fever and Covid-19 can both cause sneezing, a runny or blocked nose, headaches, and even a loss of smell. But while hay fever is triggered by an allergic reaction to pollen, Covid is caused by a viral infection – and that difference can be crucial. Dr Luke Powles, Bupa's Associate Clinical Director, explains: "Despite hay fever being more common during the spring and summer, some people are affected by pollen from March to September. This can make it harder to tell if sniffs and sneezes are being caused by an allergy or an infection such as coronavirus." The latest Covid variant, known as NB.1.8.1 or "Nimbus", is fuelling the surge. NHS data shows 947 people were admitted to hospital with Covid in the week ending 31 May. So, what's the key symptom to watch for? A high temperature. This is common with Covid, but not with hay fever. The NHS says a fever means "you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)". Dr Powles confirms: "It is not likely for you to experience a raised temperature as a result of hay fever." And while hay fever can affect smell and taste, he says, "completely losing your ability to taste or smell is more likely to result from coronavirus." Another clue is how unwell you feel. Covid often leaves people feeling drained and seriously unwell, while hay fever – annoying as it is – tends to be milder. "Hay fever symptoms aren't usually serious and, generally, you won't feel too ill," says Dr Powles. Covid, however, can have longer-lasting effects. The NHS warns some people suffer from symptoms for weeks or even months – a condition known as long Covid. The illness can also cause stomach problems like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea – not something you'd get with hay fever. Fatigue, body aches and chills are also more likely to point to Covid than seasonal allergies. While hay fever typically affects the eyes and nose, Covid can have a much broader impact on the body. Experts are urging the public not to ignore the signs. If you suddenly feel worse than a typical allergy bout, or develop unusual symptoms like fever or stomach upset, it's best to err on the side of caution. "If you're unsure whether you're suffering from hay fever or Covid, it's wise to limit contact with others, especially those who are vulnerable," said a spokesperson for the NHS. Lateral flow tests are still available at some pharmacies or online, though not always free. Taking a test can help clear up the confusion and stop the virus from spreading further. Doctors also remind people that Covid symptoms can vary widely. Not everyone gets a cough or fever, and some only experience mild cold-like issues. That's why knowing your own health history and spotting any changes is key. List of hayfever symptoms Sneezing Runny or blocked nose Itchy nose, throat, mouth, or ears Watery, red or itchy eyes Post-nasal drip (mucus dripping down the throat) Cough (often caused by post-nasal drip) Loss of smell or reduced sense of smell Headache or facial pain (due to sinus congestion) Feeling tired or fatigued Earache or popping sensation in the ears
Scottish Sun
14 hours ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
GMB star Kate Garraway reveals she had bailiffs at her door while late Derek Draper was in a coma in hospital
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) KATE Garraway today revealed how she had bailiffs at her door while her late husband Derek Draper was in a coma. The Good Morning Britain presenter, 58, opened up about a tough time she faced while her husband was stricken in hospital with a Covid-related illness. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 Kate Garraway revealed a shocking story on Good Morning Britain today Credit: ITV 4 Kate revealed that she was faced with bailiffs as Derek was stricken in hospital Credit: PA 4 Kate with her beloved late husband before he was taken ill Credit: Shutterstock Kate - who's husband Derek sadly passed away last year - revealed her shocking story during today's GMB. Her revelation came during a chat with money expert Martin Lewis who is campaigning to change the way councils call in debts of unpaid council tax. Kate - who has been faced with a stressful £800,000 debt battle following the death of her beloved husband - then revealed how whilst her husband Derek was in a coma after being stricken by Covid, bailiffs turned up at her house. She revealed it was after she had unknowingly not paid her council tax for six weeks. More on Kate Garraway FINANCE FIGHT Kate Garraway update on her stressful £800k debt battle and £288k tax bill Kate explained the reason for the bill going unpaid, was because her husband was responsible for paying the council tax. She said she had "no idea" it was going unpaid - otherwise she would've paid it. Kate revealed how "awful" it had been for her family when bailiffs suddenly turned up at her door, especially during such a tough time. FINANCIAL NIGHTMARE This latest revelation comes after The Sun revealed how Kate had received a much-needed financial boost in her struggle to pay back huge debts. The cost of caring for Derek during his four-year health nightmare ran into hundreds of thousands of pounds. At the same time, Derek's psychotherapy firm Astra Aspera Ltd - which was jointly controlled by Kate - went bust owing hundreds of thousands to creditors, including a huge sum to HMRC. GMB's Kate Garraway reveals she still can't pay 'excessive debt' for late husband Derek Draper's care - on anniversary of his death A liquidator's report revealed how Kate has been trying to repay debts as well as a more palatable revised total. HMRC has submitted a preferential claim of £288,054, a third of its previous submission of £716,822. It's not known why the HMRC have dramatically dropped their demand. There are also creditor claims of and £196,548 from four other firms including a £50,000 bank loan. However, at this stage, there will be no pay out for any creditor after liquidator fees of £32k and 40 per cent of assets have been realised. A representative for Kate said: "Kate has met all that the liquidators of Derek's company have asked for and more over the past four years. 'She doesn't recognise these figures and is shocked that it's being presented in this way by them. "Caring for Derek and supporting her family when Derek could no longer run his own businesses has taken a huge financial toll on her but she's determined to put things right.' 4 Kate has opened up about the financial nightmare she has faced following Derek's death Credit: Shutterstock MORE MONEY WOES Meanwhile, earlier this week, Kate revealed she had been hit by another financial blow. The popular presenter told fans she's been frozen out of her bank accounts after changing her phone. Taking to social media to beg the bank for help, she wrote: 'Please please get in touch with me. 'I have not been able to access any of my Barclays accounts current or savings since Friday due to changing my phone handset and can't get through to anyone on customer service - please dm me.' Luckily Kate's plea was answered and the bank replied, telling her to send more information via direct message.
Politico
4 days ago
- Health
- Politico
Layoffs and library closures: DOGE cuts hit states
Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government, your guide to Donald Trump's unprecedented overhaul of the federal government — the key decisions, the critical characters and the power dynamics that are upending Washington and beyond. Send tips | Subscribe | Email Sophia | Email Irie | Email Ben The Trump administration's budget-slashing campaign is beginning to hit state governments in full force, as legislatures finalize their spending plans for the next year and confront a harsh reality: less federal help, more layoffs. The cuts are forcing local lawmakers — most of whom have to balance their budget — to scale back public goods, including health programs and libraries, regardless of whether they live in red or blue states. President DONALD TRUMP's decision in March to abruptly rescind $11.4 billion in Covid-related public health grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with $1 billion from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, has led to significant state-level layoffs. While a federal judge halted the CDC funding cuts, states have not received the funds back, according to DANIELLE CONLON, a spokesperson for the Utah Department of Health. In Virginia, the state health department laid off or froze contracts for 530 workers, including 13 full-time employees, blaming the federal cuts. Minnesota let go of 170 employees, citing the same funding shortfalls. State officials in Arkansas, Alaska, and Utah each reported additional layoffs in the double digits and blamed the federal cuts. While originally allotted for pandemic recovery, much of the now-canceled CDC funding was also being used to bolster testing and reporting for bird flu, measles and other infectious disease threats, programs that state officials say remain critical. The CDC funding was supposed to last until 2026 or 2027. Libraries are also feeling the squeeze. In Washington state, both the State Library and the Talking Book & Braille Library will close their doors on July 1 after the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a small federal agency, cut grants because Trump ordered it to reduce operations 'to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law' and the group subsequently cut grants. South Dakota's State Library closed in April. And in Maine, the state library is down to curbside pickup after laying off nearly one-third of its staff in April. Other states are turning to broader measures to address budget constraints. Massachusetts announced an executive branch hiring freeze that took effect in late May, citing expectations of further federal cuts and inflationary pressures. And more pain may be on the way. The GOP's megabill pending on Capitol Hill could impose additional federal spending cuts, including reductions to Medicaid and SNAP, with likely consequences for state budgets already stretched thin. 'If federal cuts go through as planned, states will have to make difficult choices,' the Tax Policy Center wrote in a recent analysis. 'They could cut their own spending on SNAP and Medicaid, potentially hurting some of their most vulnerable residents. Cutting other spending, on education, public safety or transportation for example, may also affect the quality of services and be politically challenging.' MESSAGE US — West Wing Playbook is obsessively covering the Trump administration's reshaping of the federal government. Are you a federal worker? A DOGE staffer? Have you picked up on any upcoming DOGE moves? We want to hear from you on how this is playing out. Email us at westwingtips@ Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe! POTUS PUZZLER Which former president disclosed in a live TV address that a supporter had donated a dog to his family? (Answer at bottom.) Agenda Setting FIRST IN WEST WING PLAYBOOK: Office of Management and Budget Director RUSS VOUGHT will testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee next week on the rescissions package that could codify a modest portion of DOGE's cuts. Vought's plan is to put as much pressure on the Senate as possible and leave them without more excuses on passage of the bill, a person familiar with his plans said. The bill requires a simple majority in the chamber. MUSK'S BIG LIES AT SSA: ELON MUSK and his allies systematically spun a false narrative about widespread fraud at the Social Security Administration to justify DOGE's takeover of the agency and attempts to gain access to its data, NYT's ALEXANDRA BERZON, NICHOLAS NEHAMAS and TARA SIEGEL BERNARD report. Musk's fixation with SSA — including his repeated, and debunked, claims that millions of dead people were receiving Social Security checks — developed in February after his team misread government spending data, the NYT investigation found. DOGE officials acknowledged in an internal memo that the deceased were not receiving checks, but Musk continued to peddle the conspiracy on social media and in interviews. SSA employees conducted an extensive analysis of DOGE's claims, which they found to be largely inaccurate. After Musk claimed that 40 percent of the calls SSA received were from scammers, employees had even drafted a response to correct the record. But LELAND DUDEK, the agency's DOGE-sympathizing former acting commissioner, received an angry call from KATIE MILLER, who handled communications for DOGE in the White House, demanding, 'Do not contradict the president.' The investigation also found that DOGE used SSA to flex its political power, including by instructing Dudek to cancel contracts in Maine amid a public spat between Trump and Democratic Gov. JANET MILLS. FANNIE AND FREDDIE AND DONNIE: Republican lawmakers and mortgage industry experts are baffled by Trump's plan to reshape the country's housing finance system, setting up a potential rift in the GOP, our KATY O'DONNELL reports. Trump last month pledged to take public Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, while his top housing regulator, BILL PULTE, said the administration is exploring ways to sell shares while keeping the companies under government authority. Trump was widely expected to support the long-held Republican priority of reducing the government's footprint in the housing market by privatizing the firms, which were seized by the Bush administration during the 2008 financial crisis. Knives Out IMPOUNDMENT ANNOUNCEMENT: The Government Accountability Office concluded today that the Trump administration violated the Impoundment Control Act by clawing back federal funding appropriated by Congress to support libraries, archives and museums across the country, our JENNIFER SCHOLTES reports. It's the second time this year the GAO has slapped the administration with impoundment violations, and the watchdog is expected to issue similar conclusions in the coming months as it pursues at least 39 investigations into whether the Trump administration violated the law. A SUB IN THE LIBRARY: The group at the center of the funding firestorm, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, is being overseen by KEITH SONDERLING, who is moonlighting from his main job as deputy Labor secretary, our NICK NIEDZWIADEK writes in. Vought has openly expressed contempt for GAO's position with respect to impoundment and his office told GAO on May 30 it will continue to cooperate only when the administration sees fit. WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT YOU'RE FIRED: Trump terminated CHRISTOPHER HANSON from the top job at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the latest move by the White House to assert control over independent agencies, our JOSH SIEGEL and KELSEY TAMBORRINO report. The former commissioner, appointed chair by former President JOE BIDEN in 2021 but initially tapped for the commission by Trump in 2020, said in a statement today he had been fired 'without cause' and 'contrary to existing law and longstanding precedent regarding removal of independent agency appointees.' What We're Reading What Did Elon Musk Accomplish at DOGE? (The New Yorker's Benjamin Wallace-Wells) How Amy Coney Barrett Is Confounding the Right and the Left (NYT's Jodi Kantor) The Next Conservative Civil War Is Coming (POLITICO's Ankush Khardori) Trump's FAA pick has claimed 'commercial' pilot license he doesn't have (POLITICO's Oriana Pawlyk) POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER Former President RICHARD NIXON, at the time a senator from California and the running mate to former President DWIGHT EISENHOWER, declared in an infamous 1952 speech that he had received a political gift in the form of a dog from a supporter in Texas. Nixon's 6-year-old daughter, TRICIA, named the pup CHECKERS — and 'regardless of what they say about it,' Nixon said, 'we're gonna keep it.'
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Record
'Distinct' signs of latest Covid-19 Nimbus variant including 'razor blade throat'
The UK has seen a rise in Covid-related hospital admissions by almost 10 per cent in the last week of May The UK is grappling with the rise of a new Covid strain known as Nimbus or NB. 1.8.1. Britain has seen an increase of almost 10 per cent in Covid-related hospital admissions in the final week of May amid cautions from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The novel strain is marked by a harrowing "razor blade throat" symptom that mimics the feeling of blades scraping your throat with every swallow — sufferers are urged to seek rest, liquids and pain relief. Dr Naveed Asif of The London General Practice told the Independent about the unique nature of this sore throat, labelling it "distinctive" for those struck by Nimbus. On top of that, the NHS advises anyone suspecting they've caught Covid to self-isolate. Echoing NHS guidance, the UKHSA warns: "If you have symptoms of a respiratory infection, such as Covid-19, and you have a high temperature or do not feel well enough to go to work or carry out normal activities, you should avoid contact with vulnerable people and stay at home if possible." Speaking on the latest Covid symptoms, Doctor Mohamed Imran Lakhi of Prescription Doctor's said: 'People commonly report a severe sore throat, persistent fatigue, mild cough, fever, muscle aches, and nasal congestion. "Some also experience digestive issues like nausea or diarrhoea, which isn't always typical with Covid variants.' For those living with Covid and seeking further advice, including when self-isolation isn't viable, visit the website, reports the Mirror. Initially detected in January, the Nimbus variant has since taken a global stage. Nimbus has become the prevalent variant in China and constitutes a third of US cases, and is currently energising a fresh uptick in Australian infections. A recent preprint study suggests that the so-called Nimbus variant of Covid-19 may bind to human cells more effectively, potentially allowing for easier transmission and the ability to dodge immunity from previous infections. This research on Nimbus is awaiting peer review, but already the World Health Organisation has assured that current vaccines remain potent against this strain. As reported by Salon, there are no indications that Nimbus is tied to increased illness severity in comparison with other variants. University of Guelph's Dr. T. Ryan Gregory told Salon: "That said, we learned from Omicron that high transmissibility can cause as much damage as high per infection virulence and at this point it is not just acute severity that is of concern, but longer-term impacts of repeated infection." Dr. Gregory added that spotting symptoms unique to Nimbus could be tough due to the mixing of various strains and less testing compared to peak pandemic periods. Furthermore, Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam of UKHSA recently declared: "NB.1.8.1 has been detected in small numbers in the UK to date, but international data suggests that it is growing as a proportion of all Covid cases. "Based on the available information so far however, there is no evidence to suggest that this variant causes more severe disease than previous variants, or that the vaccines in current use will be less effective against it."
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
'Razor blade throat' and other key signs of Nimbus COVID variant
The NB.1.8.1 variant may have some symptoms that other Covid strains don't cause The UK has reported cases of the new Covid variant, Nimbus or NB. 1.8.1, with a rise in Covid-related hospital admissions by almost 10% in the last week of May, following a warning from the World Health Organisation (WHO). Sufferers of the new variant have described a "razor blade throat" symptom. This reportedly feels like blades scratching the back of your throat every time you swallow. A very painful symptom and those suffering from it have been advised to get rest, fluids and painkillers to manage the condition. Dr Naveed Asif, a GP at The London General Practice, spoke to the Independent, highlighting this symptom as "distinctive" for Nimbus. The NHS is also recommending that anyone who suspects they may have Covid should isolate at home. The UKHSA has issued a warning about other symptoms too: "If you have symptoms of a respiratory infection, such as COVID-19, and you have a high temperature or do not feel well enough to go to work or carry out normal activities, you should avoid contact with vulnerable people and stay at home if possible." Further advice on how to live with Covid, including what to do if unable to self-isolate, can be found on the website. First identified in January, Nimbus has been spreading globally and is now considered the dominant strain in China and accounts for a third of cases in the US. It is thought to be the driving factor behind a new surge of cases in Australia. A recent preprint study indicates that the Nimbus variant binds more efficiently to human cells. This may allow for easier transmission and raise the possibility of it bypassing the immunity that most of the population has gained from previous infections. The research surrounding Nimbus has yet to undergo peer review. However, it's worth noting that the WHO has stated that existing Covid vaccines are effective against this new strain. Salon reports there is no evidence at this stage suggesting that Nimbus leads to more severe illness than other Covid variants. Dr. T. Ryan Gregory, a researcher from the University of Guelph in Canada, expressed caution to the publication: "That said, we learned from Omicron that high transmissibility can cause as much damage as high per infection virulence and at this point it is not just acute severity that is of concern, but longer-term impacts of repeated infection." He went on to explain to Salon that identifying specific symptoms unique to the Nimbus variant could be challenging due to the presence of multiple variants and that testing levels are presently lower than they were during peak periods of the pandemic. Last week, Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, UKHSA deputy director, announced: "NB.1.8.1 has been detected in small numbers in the UK to date, but international data suggests that it is growing as a proportion of all Covid cases. "Based on the available information so far however, there is no evidence to suggest that this variant causes more severe disease than previous variants, or that the vaccines in current use will be less effective against it."
