LONDON: According to a new study, people infected with the Omicron variant of Covid are 15 percent less likely to go to the hospital and 40 per cent less likely to be hospitalised for a night or longer than those infected with Delta.

Imperial College London researchers noted that these projected reductions in severity must be evaluated against the increased likelihood of infection with Omicron as a result of the decreased protection offered by both vaccination and spontaneous infection. Significant numbers of infections, for example, could still result in large numbers of hospitalizations at a population level.

In England, the new research estimates the risk of Omicron cases requiring hospitalisation. It contains all PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases in England between December 1 and 14, where the causative variant could be determined through genetic data or via S gene target failure (SGTF). There were 56,000 cases of Omicron and 269,000 cases of Delta in the data set.

According to the calculations, Omicron patients have a 15-20 percent lower chance of any hospitalisation and a 40-45 percent lower risk of a hospitalisation ending in a stay of one or more nights.

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