Omicron infections appear no less severe than Delta
(VOVWORLD) - Infections caused by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus do not appear to be less severe than infections from Delta, according to early data from the UK.
 People walk across Westminster Bridge after new measures were announced yesterday due to the Omicron coronavirus variant, in London, Britain, November 28, 2021. (REUTERS/Tom Nicholson) |
Researchers at Imperial College London compared more than 11,000 people with confirmed or likely Omicron infections with nearly 200,000 people infected with other variants.
According to a report issued ahead of peer review and updated on Monday, they see "no evidence of Omicron having lower severity than Delta, judged by either the proportion of people testing positive who report symptoms, or by the proportion of cases seeking hospital care after infection."
For vaccines available in the UK, effectiveness against symptomatic Omicron infection ranged from 0% to 20% after two doses, and from 55% to 80% following a booster dose.
The report also estimated that after taking individual risk factors into account, the odds of reinfection with Omicron are 5.4 times greater than for reinfection with Delta.