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FACT BRIEF

Is the CDC just renaming the common cold or a respiratory syncytial virus as the omicron variant?

By Ed Payne
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NO

The omicron variant is a mutated version of the original COVID-19 virus.

While the common cold and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) are viral infections, they are different viruses than COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2), which is a novel coronavirus, a new type that had not been seen in humans before 2019. RSV was discovered in 1956. The cause of the common cold was identified in the 1950s, but the disease appears to have been around since early in human history.

Despite early reports suggesting less severe symptoms for omicron, experts like World Health Organization Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan said that it's a risky assumption:

"It is probably unwise to sit back and think 'this is a mild variant, it's not going to cause severe disease,' because I think with the numbers going up all health systems are going to be under strain."

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
American Lung Association Facts About the Common Cold
Centers for Disease Control SARS-CoV-2 Variant Classifications and Definitions
National Institutes of Health Immune cells for common cold may recognize SARS-CoV-2
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.