Studies find Omicron less likely to put you in hospital

London: Two new British studies provide early hints that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus may be milder than the Delta version.

Scientists stress that even if the findings of these early studies hold up, any reductions in severity need to be weighed against the fact that Omicron spreads much faster than Delta and is more able to evade vaccines. Sheer numbers of infections could still overwhelm hospitals.

Still, the new studies released on Wednesday seem to bolster earlier research that suggests Omicron may not be as harmful as Delta, said Manuel Ascano Jr, a Vanderbilt University biochemist.

“Cautious optimism is perhaps the best way to look at this.”

An analysis by the Imperial College London Covid-19 response team estimated hospitalisation risks for Omicron cases in England, finding that those infected with the variant were 20% less likely to go to the hospital than those infected with Delta, while 40% were less likely to be hospitalised for a night or more.

That analysis included all cases of Covid-19 confirmed in England in the first half of December in which the variant could be identified: 56,000 cases of Omicron and 269,000 cases of Delta.

A separate study out of Scotland, by scientists at the University of Edinburgh and other experts, suggested that the risk of hospitalisation was two-thirds less with Omicron than Delta.

But it noted that the nearly 24,000 Omicron cases in Scotland were mainly among younger adults aged 20 to 39.

“This national investigation is one of the first to show that Omicron is less likely to result in hospitalisation than Delta,” researchers wrote.