Omicron less likely to result in severe disease study finds
A new study from the UK Health Security Agency has found the Omicron variant is less likely to lead to severe disease and hospital admissions - but there's a warning about how transmissible it is
Last updated 27th May 2022
New research suggest the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is less likely to result in severe disease and hospital admission.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said Omicron appear to result in less severe disease for those infected with it.
Someone with Omicron is estimated to be as much as 45% less likely to attend A&E compared with Delta, and as much as 70% less likely to be admitted to hospital.
However, Omicron is believed to be infecting more people who have previously had Covid, with 9.5% of people with Omicron having had it before.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid welcomed the latest data as "promising" but urged the public to remain cautious over the Christmas break, adding it was "still too early to determine next steps".
Mr Javid said: "This new UKHSA data on Omicron is promising - while two doses of the vaccine aren't enough, we know boosters offer significant protection against the variant and early evidence suggests this strain may be less severe than Delta.
"However, cases of the variant continue to rise at an extraordinary rate - already surpassing the record daily number in the pandemic. Hospital admissions are increasing, and we cannot risk the NHS being overwhelmed.
"This is early-stage analysis and we continue to monitor the data hour by hour. It is still too early to determine next steps, so please stay cautious this Christmas and get your booster as soon as possible to protect yourself and your loved ones."
Today (December 23) the UK experienced yet another record breaking number of daily Covid cases, with 119,789 tracked as of 9am.
UKHSA has warned that the Omicron variant is more transmissible than previous variants like Delta, and therefore could still lead to significant numbers in hospital for treatment over the coming weeks.
The study also suggests vaccination will give less protection from Omicron when compared to delta.
A booster jab does provide more protection against symptomatic disease but it's effects start to wane after ten weeks.