Most common COVID symptom is sore throat, new data shows

BOSTON - According to new data, fever and loss of smell are becoming less common symptoms of COVID and sore throat is becoming a hallmark symptom of COVID.

The concern is that sore throat is incredibly common with other ailments like the common cold, allergies, strep throat, and even acid reflux, so someone with a sore throat may assume they have something other than COVID and not bother to get tested.

This could lead to more community spread. And it's especially important for people at high risk to test for COVID if they develop a sore throat so they can get treated within the timeframe necessary to prevent COVID complications.

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Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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