London, Dec 23: The Omicron variant – which has so far been detected in 106 countries – may be less severe than other coronavirus strains such as Delta.
An Imperial College study analysed hospitalisations and vaccine records among both Omicron and Delta Covid cases in England between 1 and 14 December.
Researchers found the Omicron variant appears to be milder, with a 20%-25% reduced chance of a hospital visit and at least a 40% lower risk of being admitted overnight.
“We do have some data suggesting that rates of hospitalisation are lower,” said WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19, Maria van Kerkhove, while cautioning against drawing conclusions from early data.
Kerkhove’s statement seems to be backed by two studies out of South Africa and the UK. Researchers from the Imperial College in London found the Omicron variant appears to be milder, with a 20%-25% reduced chance of a hospital visit and at least a 40% lower risk of being admitted overnight.
The findings follow a study from South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) which found “reduced severity” of Omicron compared to other variants.
South Africa has also reported data on Covid cases driven by the Omicron variant that appears to give added impetus to claims Omicron carries a lower severity of disease.
“In South Africa, this is the epidemiology: Omicron is behaving in a way that is less severe,” said Prof Cheryl Cohen of the country’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), one of the authors of the study.
“Compellingly, together our data really suggest a positive story of a reduced severity of Omicron compared to other variants,” she said during a news conference by a group of NICD scientists on Wednesday.
