NEW DELHI: Although the Omicron variant is considered to be less virulent and has lower case fatality rates than the Delta and Alpha strains, new research has shown that adults hospitalized with the Omicron variant have a greater death rate than adults hospitalized with seasonal influenza.
In the 2021–2022 influenza season, persons (18 years and older) hospitalized with influenza were 55% less likely to pass away within 30 days than those hospitalized with Omicron, according to a study by Dr. Alaa Atamna and colleagues from the Rabin Medical Center at Belinison Hospital in Israel.
Both influenza and COVID-19 are respiratory illnesses that spread in similar ways. Researchers at a major academic hospital in Israel examined the clinical outcomes of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 (Omicron version) with those hospitalized with influenza to learn more. Overall, 63 patients died within one month, out of 19 admitted with influenza and 44 hospitalized with Omicron.
While asthma was more prevalent in patients hospitalized with influenza, patients with Omicron tended to have higher total comorbidity ratings, needed more assistance with activities of daily living (washing and dressing), and were more likely to have high blood pressure and diabetes.
Omicron cases were more likely to experience respiratory issues, require oxygen support, and require mechanical ventilation than seasonal influenza cases. The fact that patients admitted with Omicron were older and had other serious underlying conditions including diabetes and chronic kidney disease may be a contributing factor in the greater Omicron death rate, said Dr. Atamna.
Given that vaccination against Covid-19 was much less common among patients with Omicron, the discrepancy could possibly be the result of an amplification of the immune response to Covid-19, he continued.
According to a study that will be presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen this month, the overlapping influenza and Covid-19 epidemics will make diseases more complex and place a greater cost on health systems.
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