Expert warns of 'difficulty' in telling difference between Covid and hay fever

A professor has warned of how difficult it can be to tell the difference between hay fever and Covid at this time of year. The pollen season is officially underway this month - which has come at a time when virus infections in Scotland have spiked once again.This recent rise in Covid cases is due to the BA.2 Omicron sub-variant, which now accounts for more than 80 per cent of cases in Scotland.

Around four million people in the UK are also said to suffer with the seasonal allergy of hay fever. Dr Celine Gounder, a clinical assistant professor of medicine and infectious diseases at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, has spoken of the difficulties of differentiating the two conditions without getting tested for Covid. “The fact is, you can’t tell the difference without a test”, she told CBS News. “You can have the cough, you can have sore throat.

It could be from Covid or it could be from the flu or seasonal allergies. “If you have those symptoms, just take a test.”Did you know you can keep up to date with the latest news by signing up to our daily newsletter?We send a morning and lunchtime newsletter covering the latest headlines every day.We also send coronavirus updates at 5pm on weekdays, and a round up of the week's must-read stories on Sunday afternoons.Signing up is simple, easy and free.You can pop your email address into the sign up box above, hit Subscribe and we'll do the rest.Alternatively, you can sign up and check out the rest of our newsletters here.She went on to add: “If you’ve had high risk exposure, if you have symptoms, absolutely go and get a test.”Experts closer to home have agreed in terms of the difficulties in determining the two conditions.NHS chiefs in Rotherham have penned a guide on the