The study finds no evidence of Omicron having lower severity than Delta, judged by either the proportion of people testing positive who report symptoms, or by the proportion of cases seeking hospital care after infection.
With the qualification:
However, hospitalisation data remains very limited at this time.
So, hopefully this proves to not be the case. Given the speed at which this variant appears to be ripping through the UK—with cases doubling every ~48 hours—it could quickly cause quite a lot of pressure on the healthcare system – not to mention the knock-on effects of so many people isolating.
The study finds no evidence of Omicron having lower severity than Delta, judged by either the proportion of people testing positive who report symptoms, or by the proportion of cases seeking hospital care after infection.
With the qualification:
However, hospitalisation data remains very limited at this time.
So, hopefully this proves to not be the case. Given the speed at which this variant appears to be ripping through the UK—with cases doubling every ~48 hours—it could quickly cause quite a lot of pressure on the healthcare system – not to mention the knock-on effects of so many people isolating.