{"id":665615,"date":"2026-10-26T07:12:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T07:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/665615\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T07:12:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T07:12:17","slug":"pharmacist-issues-two-word-warning-to-anyone-born-before-1961-as-covid-cases-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/665615\/","title":{"rendered":"Pharmacist issues ‘two-word’ warning to anyone born before 1961 as Covid cases rise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Covid cases are on the rise once again\"Overhead<\/p>\n

XFG Covid – known as ‘American Covid’ – is the latest strain of the virus to dominate in Ireland(Image: \u00a9 2022 Yiu Yu Hoi)<\/p>\n

Covid cases are climbing once again, with Ireland facing a new coronavirus surge ahead of winter.<\/p>\n

The XFG strain<\/a>, occasionally referred to as ‘American Covid<\/a>‘ or ‘Stratus’, is amongst the variants in circulation, causing a number of infections – though health officials indicate it has in fact been spreading worldwide quietly for more than a year.<\/p>\n

Hanna Yusuf, prescribing pharmacist at Chemist4U, cautioned that people might confuse the infection with a seasonal illness as temperatures drop.<\/p>\n

She explained: “Symptoms remain broadly similar to those seen with other Covid-19 variants, including fatigue, cough, fever, headache, muscle aches, a runny or blocked nose and sore throat.”<\/p>\n

A hoarse or croaky voice has additionally been documented, though it is not exclusive to this variant. Since symptoms can significantly overlap with seasonal colds and flu<\/a>, it isn’t always feasible to determine which infection somebody has purely from their symptoms.<\/p>\n

\"Hanna<\/p>\n

Hanna Yusuf, Prescribing Pharmacist at Chemist4U(Image: Chemist4U)<\/p>\n

Yusuf warned that those at greater risk should not delay seeking advice until they become seriously ill, reports the Mirror<\/a>. Her guidance was clear: “Act quickly if you’re high-risk. If you have a long-term condition, are pregnant, or over 65, don’t wait until day five to seek help. Early antiviral treatment can make a difference but works best if started promptly.”<\/p>\n

Yusuf also urged those eligible for an autumn Covid vaccine or flu jab to remain up to date with their seasonal protection. She added that keeping a working thermometer and rapid Covid tests at home could help people monitor their symptoms more accurately and seek assistance sooner should they fall ill.<\/p>\n

To help alleviate the growing winter strain on hospitals<\/a>, health officials are encouraging the public to maintain good respiratory hygiene and remain at home when feeling unwell. If you experience a high temperature or feel too poorly to undertake your usual activities, current guidance advises avoiding contact with others until your symptoms improve.<\/p>\n

People age 65 and older are at the highest risk of serious illness from COVID-19 if they have not been vaccinate, according to the HSE.<\/p>\n

Serious illness means that you may need to go to hospital, an intensive care unit (ICU), or be put on a ventilator to help you breathe. There is also a risk of death.<\/p>\n

How to protect yourself<\/p>\n

Keeping up to date with your vaccines is the most important thing you can do to avoid serious COVID-19 illness. Talk to your GP or hospital care team if you have any questions about vaccination.<\/p>\n

Dotry to avoid crowded indoor spaces, if possiblewear a face mask, if you would like tokeep active and look after your general health – this will improve your chance of recovery if you get COVID-19wash or sanitise your hands oftencontinue to use the healthcare services you need – ask or remind healthcare workers about precautions if neededDon’t<\/p>\n

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Covid cases are on the rise once again XFG Covid – known as ‘American Covid’ – is the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665616,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[158,103,61,60],"class_list":["post-665615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-coronavirus","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}