It looks like the list of symptoms was officially changed on May 13.
COVID-19 has a wide array of symptoms—apparently much wider than we originally thought. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officially added to the list of potential COVID symptoms back in May, and we are only now beginning to notice the new additions:
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
These were added to the existing list of symptoms that included:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
More information about the disease is becoming available all the time, so of course, the CDC and other health experts are constantly revising their data. In fact, the CDC states as much on its page: "This list does not include all possible symptoms. CDC will continue to update this list as we learn more about COVID-19."
The additions of congestion/runny nose, nausea/vomiting, and diarrhea are significant because they change our assessment of our own symptoms and overall health—and, consequentially, our risk of unknowingly spreading the virus to the people around us. The wide array of symptoms is confounding, too, since somebody who thought they had the stomach flu or a mild cold may have, in fact, been suffering from the coronavirus all along. The symptoms play out differently in every person.
The "Symptoms of Coronavirus" page on the CDC website was last updated May 13, which is also the date it was last shared in the CDC's running list of new updates.
Timestamp found at the bottom of the CDC Symptoms of Coronavirus page
What do you think? Did you know the CDC had officially added to the list of coronavirus symptoms? Tell us in the comments!
*We took a poll here in our office, and less than 20 percent of our employees knew that the CDC had changed its official list of symptoms.
