I’ve heard folks talking about XBB 1.5 “Kraken” variant, especially with some confusion as to what its symptoms are since they differ a bit from the more common symptoms seen with Delta and earlier variants. (As a side note, the name “Kraken” was actually coined by T. Gregory, a epidemologist/immunologist that’s on Twitter. He’s been deriving new names for the lineages since XBB is a bit unwieldy to say).
XBB 1.5 originated in New York City, NY, USA. (Thanks USA.) It’s now been exported to Europe and who knows else because America refuses to do pandemic mitigations.
[Note: America’s CDC has been gaslighting the public here for years, and it’s ‘let-it-rip’ approach is indeed eugenic-policies. (1) I do not advise relying on them for suggestions on how to avoid this variant; however, the scientific data that they include on their site – if you dig enough – is still valuable and show how deadly this disease can be, which contrasts immensely their harmful ‘let-it-rip’ messaging. Having said this, I will not be using them as a source in this discussion.]
XBB 1.5 is the most infectious and most immune evasive variant to appear yet. (2) It’s a recombinant variant – meaning two Omicron lineages combined with XBB lineage to create this monstrous variant.(3) This evasion is so effective that even those with the newer bivalent booster offers only partial protection (4). No monoclonal antibody treatments work against it. (5) Paxlvoid does work to some degree; however, Molnupiravir has often lead to rapid accrual of mutations within the virus in immuno-compromised patients, so is not recommended.(6) Covid is already known to “hide” in various parts of our body (7), and this variant is no different.
Symptoms for XBB 1.5 (Kraken) may include (8,9):
- Muscle Aches
- Body Aches
- Scratchy/sore Throat
- Fatigue
- Back Pain (Lower most common)
- Runny/stuffy Nose
- Fever
- Headache
- Sore Eyes
- Persistent Cough
- Loss of Appetite
- Chills or Night Sweats
The typical loss of smell and taste was less likely to happen with any lineage that derives from Omicron BA.2, which XBB 1.5 does (2,3,4,8,9). This doesn’t mean it can’t happen, only that it is more likely a change of taste and smell rather than full loss of it.(9)
Will XBB 1.5 result in LongCovid?
Yes, it is possible. The likelihood of anyone contracting Long Covid increases exponentially the more times one is infected with any SARS-CoV-2 variant.(10)
Long Covid generally develops 4 to 6 months after initial infection. It is unknown how long Long Covid lasts as many suffers (myself included) have had symptoms for years. It’s been labeled a chronic disease by several experts (10). Symptoms of Long Covid tend to hit several bodily systems. (10,11)
Important Note when reading this list: A sufferer of LongCovid rarely has all of these symptoms. They do tend to develop in clusters. I have a few in each category. If you find yourself having ANY of these symptoms and its been six months or more since you’ve had Covid, then please be seen by a doctor who acknowledges and treats LongCovid as a serious disease. Some of these symptoms (especially Cardiovascular ones) can be fatal if not treated. All symptoms below are taken from citations 10 and 11.
NOTE THESE ARE MOST COMMON ONES. NOT ALL SYMPTOMS ARE LISTED HERE FOR LONGCOVID!
General Symptoms (impacting multiple systems):
- Fatigue
- Post Exertional Malaise (often nicknamed the crash and happens after physical or mental exercising)
- Elevated temperatures
- Chills/Flushing
- Weakness
- Heat Intolerance
- Low Temperature
- Night Sweats
- May develop Diabetes I (especially in children)
- May develop Osteoporosis
- Suicidal Ideation
- Sexual dsyfunction
- Painful Menstrual cramps or abnormal cycles
- May cause thyroid or cortisol dysfunction
Neurological symptoms:
- Brain Fog (Cognitive Dysfunction similar to a traumatic brain injury)
- Headaches
- Visual disturbances (Blurred vision, double vision)
- Irritability
- Sensitivity to Light
- Sensitivity to Noise
- Numbness or Tingling within various parts of body
- Changes in Taste or Smell
- Increases likelihood of Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s
Cardiovascular symptoms:
- Palpitations
- Tachycardia
- Pain/burning in chest
- Visibly inflamed/bulging veins
- Brachycardia
- Fainting
Musculoskeletal Symptoms:
- Muscle Pain or Soreness
- Back Pain
- Numbness in Muscles or Pins and Needles
- Tightness of Chest
- Joint Pain
- Stiff Neck
- Muscle Spasms
- Bone Ache or Burning
Pulmonary Symptoms:
- Asthma (may develop after Covid infection)
- Shortness of Breath
- May Develop Sleep Apnea
- Dry Cough
- Difficulty Breathing (despite readings show normal O2 Level)
- Cough with mucus
- Sneezing
- Rattling of breath
Gastrointestinal Symptoms:
- Diarrhea
- Loss of Appetite
- Nausea
- Abdominal Pain
- Gastroesophageal reflux
- Feeling full quickly when eating
- Constipation
- Hyperactive bowel sensations
- Vomiting
Autoimmune Symptoms:
- Heightened reaction to old allergies
- New Allergies
- New anaphylaxis reaction
- Inflammation symptoms (overlaps with Dermatologic, Pulmonary, and Gastrointestinal symptoms)
Dermatologic symptoms:
- Itchy Skin
- Skin Rashes
- Petechiae
- Covid Toe (Hard to touch and a reddish/purplish color)
- Peeling Skin
I share this list not to scare the souls out of people – though this list ought to scare everyone into doing basic pandemic mitigations like masking and air filtration/ventilation – but mostly to advise people on what to look out for, especially after they have had or thought they had Covid.
If you have any of the above symptoms but don’t have proof of a positive Covid Test, then it is still likely you may have LongCovid (or at the very least it’s partner in crime: ME/CFS), and should be tested by a doctor who is actually knowledgeable about both diseases. If you have proof of a positive test and have these symptoms, you are highly likely to have LongCovid, and the positive test will be helpful as proof.
Important note about LongCovid Treatments: if a doctor suggests graded exercise for LongCovid, fire that doctor immediately. Graded exercise therapy will result in a crash of even worse symptoms; it is particularly bad for LongCovid and ME/CFS patients, and newer research (10,11) recommend against it. Can some exercise help? Possibly but it is highly recommended to rest and carefully pace yourself to avoid overly stressing your body with too much physical and mental activities. Too much exercise will worsen symptoms significantly if not permanently depending on the person and severity of LongCovid and ME/CFS.
How can we avoid Covid?
The tools to avoid Covid still exist and we need to use them. We do not need to succumb to WHO and America’s CDC gaslighting that the only way out is more infection to try to achieve “immunity,” which studies (10) show does not exist. All immunity gained from infection is lost within a few months, and newer variants often evade that immunity (2,3,4).
- Wear a N95 Mask or better everywhere. I personally use a FloMask with a pro-filter. Others swear by 3M elastrometrics or Envomask. For other reusuable masks, see Cambridge, Vogmask, AUS Air, Softseal, Happy Mask (for kids), Airgami (for kids), Enro Mask. (12)
- Invest and/or make air filtration (Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes can be made with some easy to buy materials or purchase HEPA filters) and push for all places to install these devices. (12)
- Keep tabs on the transmission data for your region. This will help you better prepare for when you must go out in public or attend events. (10 – see Covid Tracking tag).
- Visit the PeoplesCDC.org for its See You Safer Kit. It has even more tips and tricks!
- Test for Covid with RAT and/or PCR before and after events. This contact tracing is crucial to keep our communities safe.
I hope that helps folks! Feel free to ask me any questions.
FootNotes:
- https://upnight.com/2023/01/08/first-lets-kill-all-of-the-philosophers-covid-and-the-use-and-abuse-of-science/ And https://nancylwayne.wordpress.com/2023/01/09/the-broken-u-s-healthcare-system-long-covid-and-its-disproportionate-impact-on-women/ And https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/07/04/Get-Ready-Forever-Plague/?s=09 And https://truthout.org/articles/abled-bodied-leftists-cannot-abandon-disabled-solidarity-to-move-on-from-covid/ And https://counterdisinformationproject.substack.com/p/the-pandata-file?s=09
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9747694/
- https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/01/03/health/covid-variant-xbb-explainer/index.html
- https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2214293
- https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(22)01531-8.pdf And https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/therapies/statement-on-evusheld/
- https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.12.21.22283811v1
- https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jun/28/are-pockets-of-covid-in-the-gut-causing-long-term-symptoms?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other And https://www.cell.com/med/fulltext/S2666-6340(22)00167-2
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/symptoms-covid-variant-xbb-doctors-080002661.html And https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-34244-2
- https://bit.ly/AidansCovidDatabase (under tag LongCovid) And https://docs.google.com/document/d/15LHdOt-f6e7O5LWWAeNnh-zZ2YRW_EzrbSQKJBPnkvY/edit?usp=sharing
- https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(21)00299-6/fulltext And https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2788283
- https://peoplescdc.org And https://theconversation.com/ventilation-reduces-the-risk-of-covid-so-why-are-we-still-ignoring-it-194820 And https://cleanaircrew.org/
Written by me, Aidan Z. (Aaidanbird@disabled.social or TheBird@ni.hil.ist)
Reshaping Reality 