7. Key Takeaways for Parents

Navigating this new phase can be straightforward. Here are the three most important things to remember:

1. Looks Like a Cold, But It’s COVID-19 The current wave in children primarily presents as a standard upper respiratory infection. This is expected, as it is driven by new but familiar Omicron sub-variants.
2. Symptoms Are Mostly Mild While the start of the school year has increased the number of cases, the illness itself is not severe for most children. Hospitalization and other serious outcomes remain low.
3. When in Doubt, Test Because the symptoms of Nimbus and Stratus overlap so much with the flu and other common viruses, testing is the only way to be sure of a diagnosis and take the right steps to care for your child and prevent further spread.