# Dispel (or provide proof for) this Omicron “fact” **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [January 8, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-or-provide-proof-for-this-omicron-fact/957431 "2022-01-08T16:29:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-or-provide-proof-for-this-omicron-fact/957431/1 "2022-01-08T16:29:39Z")
Someone at work who just came back from Covid said we both had Delta because we lost our sense of taste. I have seen some non-scientific articles that state loss of taste is much less prevalent with Omicron but it didn’t give any actual data. Although I had a PCR test I have no idea if they checked what variant it was and I certainly have no way of finding out. Is there any hard data out there about confirmed Omicron cases and those kinds of symptoms? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-or-provide-proof-for-this-omicron-fact/957431/2 "2022-01-08T16:59:47Z")
All I have is an anecdote: I have now had covid twice. Once was VintageCovid, the original strain, and this last go round one of the new ones. I never lost my senses of taste and smell. While losing those senses is a common symptom it is by no means universal. You can not tell from symptoms which strain you have. You need a PCR test for that. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-or-provide-proof-for-this-omicron-fact/957431/3 "2022-01-08T17:05:04Z")
How interesting. I was just having this conversation last night with my stepmom. I sent her a couple links to dispel the notion that “only” people who get Delta lose their sense of taste and smell. > **[What we know about the symptoms — and the severity — of the omicron variant](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/01/06/1070622880/omicron-symptoms)** > > Researchers are looking at data from U.S. cases to determine if the variant causes milder disease. Even if the answer is yes, they say, rates of hospitalization could be high during the surge. And also about how scientists know which variant is circulating through their populations. > **[From delta to omicron, here's how scientists know which coronavirus variants...](https://theconversation.com/from-delta-to-omicron-heres-how-scientists-know-which-coronavirus-variants-are-circulating-in-the-us-173971)** > > A nationwide genomic surveillance system analyzes positive COVID-19 tests to build a picture of which variants are spreading in the population. Hope there is some useful information here for you. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-or-provide-proof-for-this-omicron-fact/957431/4 "2022-01-08T19:39:58Z")
Our county health system does track the variants. I had Delta. I had no issues with sense of smell or taste, I assume that being fully vaccinated kept most of the bad stuff at bay. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-or-provide-proof-for-this-omicron-fact/957431/5 "2022-01-09T04:06:40Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > How interesting. I was just having this conversation last night with my stepmom. I sent her a couple links to dispel the notion that “only” people who get Delta lose their sense of taste and smell. Well, loss of taste and smell was a symptom long before Delta made its appearance, or does she mean that only people who had pre-Omicron strains lost those senses? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-or-provide-proof-for-this-omicron-fact/957431/6 "2022-01-09T14:54:51Z")
I’m still getting over a bout of Covid I came down with over the holidays. I don’t know what specific strain it was. I lost my sense of smell completely, but my tastebuds worked just fine- so I could still detect sweet sour salty and bitter. A mentholyptus cough drop just tasted like a sugar pill. Aromatic bitters? Bitter yes, aromatic, no. Chicken broth just tasted like salt water, and maybe a little umami. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-or-provide-proof-for-this-omicron-fact/957431/7 "2022-01-09T15:08:16Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > Our county health system does track the variants. I had Delta. I had no issues with sense of smell or taste, I assume that being fully vaccinated kept most of the bad stuff at bay. I have no idea if they checked or if it’s possible to get the information. I had mine done by a private lab that only said it was positive for Covid. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-or-provide-proof-for-this-omicron-fact/957431/8 "2022-01-10T01:16:39Z")
I specifically asked both before and after the test because I wanted to know. The tech was able to tell me when she gave me the results. Hubs, who got tested at the same place didn’t as and was only told it was positive for COVID. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-or-provide-proof-for-this-omicron-fact/957431/9 "2022-01-10T01:19:03Z")
I’m not sure what she meant, exactly. She is very fuzzy on her COVID information. It scares me the garbage she relies on. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-or-provide-proof-for-this-omicron-fact/957431/10 "2022-01-10T12:33:10Z")
It’s certainly false that only Delta made you lose your sense of smell. I haven’t heard that Omicron can or cannot affect your sense of smell. The only difference I’ve heard with Omicron is that it may tend not to affect your lungs, which may be why it appears less deadly on a per-case basis. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-or-provide-proof-for-this-omicron-fact/957431/11 "2022-01-10T23:35:57Z")
Having just had Omnicron the most obvious proof of having it (and borne out by reading online) is if you get a TERRIBLE sore throat as your first symptom, one of those “severe pain when you swallow” types of sore throats.