(Bloomberg) — Infection with the omicron variant of Covid-19 may be far less likely to land patients in the hospital than cases involving the delta strain, according to early study data out of Scotland and South Africa.
Researchers in Scotland suggest omicron is associated with a two-thirds reduction in the risk of hospitalization when compared with the earlier variant, though it’s also more contagious.
The fresh data add to earlier preliminary findings Wednesday showing that South Africans contracting Covid-19 are 80% less likely to be hospitalized if they catch the omicron variant, compared with other strains. Omicron infections are also associated with a 70% lower risk of severe disease than delta, the study by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases showed.
Although preliminary, the research could provide reassurance that omicron is substantially less likely to result in severe outcomes than delta, even as infections surge worldwide. Daily Covid cases in the U.K. surged above 100,000 Wednesday, the highest single-day tally yet.
Booster doses offer greater protection against delta, and a third shot also offers substantial additional protection against the risk of symptomatic infection for omicron, the researchers in Scotland found.
More Contagious
Although the apparently lower severity is good news, the new strain’s highly contagious nature could outweigh that factor, the researchers said. Public health leaders have cautioned that other factors, such as higher numbers of people who are vaccinated or have previously had Covid, may also complicate any comparison with previous points in the pandemic.
“It’s important that we don’t get ahead of ourselves,” said Jim McMenamin, national Covid-19 incident director for Public Health Scotland, which conducted the study with the University of Edinburgh and the University of Strathclyde
The potentially serious impact of omicron on a population can’t be underestimated and might result in a “substantial number of people” with severe cases that lead to hospitalization, McMenamin said. The Scottish data also don’t mean other measures against Covid aren’t needed, he said.
“A smaller proportion of a greater number of cases requiring treatment might still mean a substantial number of people that may experience severe Covid.”
(Updates with South African study, comments from briefing)
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