Figures in Britain show Ómicron causes fewer hospitalizations

Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP / Getty Images

Patients with covid – 19 with the Omicron variant have 50% to 70% less likely to require hospitalization , than those who deal with Delta.

This is indicated by data revealed by the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) , which add to what has been said previously about the rapid spread of this variant, its easy evasion towards existing vaccines, but also that apparently produces milder disease than other mutations .

Also, a patient with Omicron will be between 31% and 45% less likely to require emergency medical attention in a hospital , compared to someone who has fallen ill with Delta variant, add.

However, this body adds that the analysis is “preliminary and very uncertain” , because very few Omicron patients have been hospitalized, and because the majority are younger.

The analysis “Shows an encouraging early sign that people who contract the Omicron variant may have a relatively lower risk of hospitalization than those who contract other variants (…) Cases are currently very high in the UK, and even a relatively low proportion requiring hospitalization could result in significant numbers of people becoming seriously ill, ”adds Jenny Harries, UKHSA Executive Director.

Caution

For its part, an analysis of the covid response team – 19 of Imperial College London indicates qu e patients with Omicron have 20% less likely to have to go to the hospital than with the Delta variant , and 40% less likely to require hospitalization at least for one night.

For his part, Sajid Javid, British Health Secretary, considers that the latest data represents “encouraging news” , although he emphasizes that “it is not yet very clear by how much this risk is reduced”. to the Delta variant.

Another fact worth noting is the importance of the protection provided by vaccines .

“ A cautious optimism is perhaps the best way to see this ”, considers the biochemist from Vanderblit University, Manuel Ascano Jr.

Great Britain is currently focusing attention , having in Ómicron its dominant variant and where cases have risen by more than 50% in just one week.

In the United States , although hospitalizations have increased by around one 40% since November 1, most of the people who have required hospitalization and have even died are patients who have not had been vaccinated.

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