sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
Two new studies (Public Health Scotland & Imperial College) suggest that Omicron infections more often result in mild illness, compared with previous variants of the coronavirus, offering hope that the current surge may not be quite as catastrophic as feared, despite skyrocketing caseloads in much of the world.
The research, conducted in Britain and released on Wednesday, indicated that Omicron is less likely to put people in hospitals.
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Also on Wednesday, a team of researchers at Imperial College London looked at Omicron and Delta cases in the first two weeks of December and saw a smaller reduction in visits to hospitals.
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Paradoxically, though, the researchers (Imperial College) also found the Omicron virus is not that much less dangerous than Delta.
Much of the reduction in severity is linked to the fact that Omicron is better at infecting people who have already had a case of Covid. While so-called reinfection with Omicron is much more common than with Delta, these cases are less likely to put people in the hospital.
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The difference between the English and Scottish results may be due in part to the data the scientists could study. For England, the Imperial College London team included people who just visited a hospital in addition to those who had to be put in a bed for more serious illness. The Scottish researchers looked only at hospital admissions.
more...
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/12...imes&smtyp=cur
The research, conducted in Britain and released on Wednesday, indicated that Omicron is less likely to put people in hospitals.
snip
Also on Wednesday, a team of researchers at Imperial College London looked at Omicron and Delta cases in the first two weeks of December and saw a smaller reduction in visits to hospitals.
snip
Paradoxically, though, the researchers (Imperial College) also found the Omicron virus is not that much less dangerous than Delta.
Much of the reduction in severity is linked to the fact that Omicron is better at infecting people who have already had a case of Covid. While so-called reinfection with Omicron is much more common than with Delta, these cases are less likely to put people in the hospital.
snip
The difference between the English and Scottish results may be due in part to the data the scientists could study. For England, the Imperial College London team included people who just visited a hospital in addition to those who had to be put in a bed for more serious illness. The Scottish researchers looked only at hospital admissions.
more...
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/12...imes&smtyp=cur