Preliminary studies published in the United Kingdom and South Africa indicate that the symptoms caused by the omicron variant appear to be less severe.
Early evidence indicates that fewer people need hospital treatment to face the virus, in compared to the other variants, with a reduction of one 30% still 70%.
However, there is still concern that although omicron is milder, the growing number of cases overwhelms to hospitals.
More of 70. 000 cases have been reported in the UK in a single day for the first time since the pandemic started.
In Scotland, a study looked at the number of people who ended up in hospital after contracting the virus. The investigation details that if omicron had behaved the same as the delta variant, an estimate of 40 people would have ended up in a health institution. Rather, there are currently only 19 people hospitalized.
The researchers observed a reduction of approximately two-thirds in the number of people who needed hospital care, but in the study there were few cases of older people , who represent the population most at risk.
Jim McMenamin, National Incident Director for COVID – 19 of the Scottish Public Health Service, described the findings as “good news.”
He said that the data “fill a blank” on the protection of vaccines against hospitalization, but warned that it was “important that we not get ahead of ourselves.”
The The omicron variant spreads incredibly fast and a large number of cases could reduce any of the benefits we have gained in the fight against the pandemic.
The teacher Mark Woolhouse, University of Edinburgh, said: “A single infection could be relatively mild for the vast majority of people, but the possibility remains that all these infections occur at the same time and put serious pressure on the NHS. (National Health Service) ”.
Meanwhile, another study in South Africa also points out that the omicron wave is lighter than the past ones.
However, it suggests that there are no differences in the impact of the variant among people who ended up in the hospital.
“Our data suggest a positive history due to the reduction in the severity of omicron compared to the other variants ”, said Professor Cheryl Cohen, from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases of South Africa. Africa.
Why less severe?
The reduction in omicron severity is believed to be a combination of the variant’s properties and the high levels of immunity provided by vaccines and previous infections.
An analysis carried out by the Imperial College London suggests that its mutations have made it a milder virus than the delta variant.
The researchers said that the chances of reaching the emergency room after catching omicron are a 11% lower compared to delta, if the person did not have immunity previously.
The same analysis highlights that having an immunized population reduce between a 25% and a 30% the risk of visiting the emergency room due to being infected with omicron. It also reduces by about a 40% the need to stay in the hospital for more than a day.
Professor Neil Ferguson, one of the researchers, commented: “Clearly this is good news, up to a point.”
However, he warned that the reduction “was not enough to drastically change the model” and speed with which omicron spreads, which means that “there is a possibility that hospitalizations will still be received in numbers that could put health systems at risk.
Professor Peter Openshaw, an immunologist at Imperial College London who was not part of the investigations, argued that the first signs indicate that the variant could be less severe, but To argue that all three studies showed that “it turned into a common cold” is an “incorrect interpretation.”
Some laboratory studies shed light on why the omicron could be less severe.
The University of Hong Kong found that the variant infects the respiratory tract better, but does not penetrate from the same way the tissues of the lungs, where it can do more damage.
For its part, the University of Cambridge discovered that the variant was not so good at binding to lung cells, something that occurs in the lungs of people who become seriously ill.
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