Spread of COVID-19 variant raises concerns, smokers urged to take 'extra caution'
Smokers face higher COVID-19 risks due to easier viral entry and reduced lung function. gettyimagesbank
A new wave of COVID-19 is spreading in Korea, driven by a variant whose transmissibility and severity remain unclear.
Experts say widespread immunity makes another large-scale outbreak unlikely, but caution that infections could rise during the summer holiday season.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Monday, 220 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized at 221 monitored hospitals between July 27 and Aug. 2 — more than triple the 63 patients recorded five weeks earlier.
“It seems this year’s summer wave is starting in earnest, similar to last year,” said Lee Jae-gap, an infectious disease professor at Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital.
The current dominant variant is NB.1.8.1, an Omicron sub-lineage that accounted for 83.8 percent of cases in the 29th week of the year.
While the Korean Medical Association says existing vaccines are effective, it noted that the variant’s spread and severity are not yet known. The group warned that increased travel, frequent gatherings and crowded air-conditioned indoor spaces could accelerate transmission.
Infected individuals may experience fever, chills and sore throat for up to two weeks, along with muscle pain, fatigue, runny nose, sneezing and headaches.
Older adults and people with conditions such as hypertension, heart or lung disease and diabetes face a higher risk of severe illness; people aged 65 and older accounted for 60 percent of this year’s 3,526 hospitalized cases.
Smokers are also at greater risk, as viruses on the fingers can enter the body more easily during smoking, and reduced lung function can increase the chance of severe disease.
“The number of confirmed cases has been rising slowly and then falling, in a repeating pattern,” said Jung Jae-hoon, a preventive medicine professor at Korea University College of Medicine. “New variants will likely continue to emerge, but the risk level should remain similar to that of influenza.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.