CDC study: Omicron appears less severe © AP-Matt Rourke The omicron variant is on average causing less severe disease than previous variants of the virus, a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study found. The ratio of hospital admissions to cases and the ratio of deaths to cases were lower during the omicron wave than during the delta variant peak last year or the winter of 2020-2021, the study found. Still, omicron is placing a strain on hospitals, the study said, even if a smaller percentage of cases are severe. “Despite Omicron seeing the highest reported numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations during the pandemic, disease severity indicators, including length of stay, ICU admission, and death, were lower than during previous pandemic peaks,” the study stated. “Although disease severity appears lower with the Omicron variant, the high volume of hospitalizations can strain local health care systems and the average daily number of deaths remains substantial,” it added. The stats: The omicron variant caused 27 hospital admissions per 1,000 cases, the study found, lower than 68 per 1,000 cases in the winter of 2020-2021 or 78 per 1,000 during the delta wave. Similarly, the nine deaths per 1,000 cases during omicron was less than the 16 per 1,000 cases last winter or the 13 per 1,000 during the delta surge. Read more here. |
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