MIAMI – Physicians are warning pink eye is now one of the symptoms of COVID-19.
The viral infectious disease behind the pandemic, which is no longer a global emergency, continues to be a risk for those who have a weak immune system.
“So far the illness that we have seen is the same. Except for, we have an increased risk of children having pink eye,” said Dr. Aileen Marty, a Florida International University infectious disease expert.
The new symptom in addition to “a higher fever” is happening because the coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 illness continues to evolve the more it spreads.
“It continues to try and adapt and get better at infecting because that’s how it survives in the world,” Marty said.
Infectious disease experts have attributed the pink eye symptom to a new persistent enemy most commonly known as Arcturus, which as of Friday wasn’t a big concern in Florida.
“We have not really seen an uptick in cases requiring hospitalizations or ER visits or anything like that,” said Dr. Rossana Rosa, a Jackson Health System infectious disease expert.
Arcturus is a mutated version of Omicron, a variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and that has been evolving since 2021.
“We do see some of the symptoms that are described with conjunctivitis, but those are more kind of outpatient,” said Dr. Marcos A. Mestre, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital’s chief medical officer.
Experts identified Arcturus, an omicron subvariant, as XBB.1.16 earlier this year. It is highly transmissible but responds to the existing vaccines.
Most recently, Arcturus made up one out of every 10 COVID cases in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Federal guidelines allow those who face a higher risk for severe disease, including people who are 65 or older, to get an extra shot of an updated version of the Pfizer or Moderna booster dose.
The fourth vaccine shot, a second booster, is allowed at least two to four months after the first booster, which follows the two shots required for the original vaccination, according to the guidelines.
Mestre said he had a request for parents in South Florida: “If you are seeing symptoms of fever, local respiratory infections, not to send the kids to school with that, no matter what it is.”
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