UK data suggest hospitalisation is less likely with Omicron

LONDON (AP):

Preliminary data suggest that people with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus are between 50 per cent and 70 per cent less likely to need hospitalisation than those with the Delta strain, Britain’s public health agency said on Thursday.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)findings add to emerging evidence that Omicron produces milder illness than other variants – but also spreads faster and better evades vaccines.

The agency said that based on cases in the UK, an individual with Omicron is estimated to be between 31 per cent and 45 per cent less likely to attend a hospital emergency department, compared to one with Delta, “and 50 to 70 per cent less likely to be admitted to hospital”.

It cautioned that the analysis is “preliminary and highly uncertain”, because of the small number of Omicron patients in hospitals and the fact that most were in younger age groups. As of December 20, 132 people had been admitted to UK hospitals with confirmed Omicron, of whom 14 – age between 52 and 96 – died.

Scientists caution that 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.

The agency’s research said the protection a booster shot of vaccine gives against symptomatic Omicron infection appears to wane after about 10 weeks, though protection against hospitalisation and severe disease is likely to hold up for longer.

UKHSA Chief Executive Jenny Harries said the analysis “shows an encouraging early signal that people who contract the Omicron variant may be at a relatively lower risk of hospitalisation than those who contract other variants”.

But she added that “cases are currently very high in the UK, and even a relatively low proportion requiring hospitalisation could result in a significant number of people becoming seriously ill”.

UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the emerging information about Omicron was “encouraging news”. But he said it was “not very clear yet ... by how much that risk is reduced”, compared to the Delta variant.