The risk of hospitalization with the Omicron variant is about a third of that of the Delta variant, according to a study conducted in Britain in recent weeks.
The United Kingdom is experiencing a surge in Covid-19 cases precisely because of the variant identified in South Africa, which is much more transmissible: for example, 189,846 daily infections on Friday 31 December. Hospital admissions are also growing, but the information released by the British government authorizes optimism: the Omicron variant would be milder than the Delta.
This is all based on an analysis published by the UK Health Security Agency which worked together with Cambridge University’s MRc biostatistics unit on 528,176 Omicron cases and 573,012 Delta cases. The number of patients needing mechanical ventilation remained constant through December, unlike the previous highs of the pandemic. The study then reveals that the vaccines may work well against Omicron. “The risk of hospitalization is lower for Omicron cases with symptomatic or asymptomatic infection after 2 and 3 doses of vaccine, with an 81% reduction in the risk of hospitalization after 3 doses compared to unvaccinated Omicron cases,” said the Ukhsa.
Susan Hopkins, the agency’s chief medical consultant, said the analysis is in line with other encouraging signs on Omicron, specifying that the health service may still be struggling with high transmission rates. “It is too early to draw firm conclusions on the severity and increased transmissibility of Omicron and the increase in cases in the over 60 population in England means that it remains highly likely that there will be significant pressure on the health system in the coming weeks.” The daily data update on Friday showed 12,395 patients in hospital, up from 11,542 on Thursday, in a strong upward trend. However, the figure is well below the peak of over 34,000 in January.