Posted on 12/23/2021 1:25:41 AM PST by nickcarraway
Two new British studies provide some early hints that the omicron variant of the coronavirus may be milder than the delta version.
Scientists stress that even if the findings of these early studies hold up, any reductions in severity need to be weighed against the fact omicron spreads much faster than delta and is more able to evade vaccines. Sheer numbers of infections could still overwhelm hospitals.
Still, the new studies released Wednesday seem to bolster earlier research that suggests omicron may not be as harmful as the delta variant, said Manuel Ascano Jr., a Vanderbilt University biochemist who studies viruses.
“Cautious optimism is perhaps the best way to look at this,” he said.
An analysis from the Imperial College London COVID-19 response team estimated hospitalization risks for omicron cases in England, finding people infected with the variant are around 20% less likely to go to the hospital at all than those infected with the delta variant, and 40% less likely to be hospitalized for a night or more.
That analysis included all cases of COVID-19 confirmed by PCR tests in England in the first half of December in which the variant could be identified: 56,000 cases of omicron and 269,000 cases of delta.
A separate study out of Scotland, by scientists at the University of Edinburgh and other experts, suggested the risk of hospitalization was two-thirds less with omicron than delta. But that study pointed out that the nearly 24,000 omicron cases in Scotland were predominantly among younger adults ages 20-39. Younger people are much less likely to develop severe cases of COVID-19.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
You need a “study” to tell us that????
How about a cold hard look at the reality and facts on the ground that tell us?
It’s a crazy conspiracy theory! Omicron is worse than the Black Death! Just ask the drug companies and their socialist pals!
Less likely. In my case there is no way I will go to hospital to lay there and die.
I just lost my best and only true friend to hospital neglect and ineptitude. He was admitted for pneumonia, tested for Wuhan and was negative. The hospital put him in quarantine for 10 days and NO family could interface with him. They tried every which way to jab him and put him on ventilator. He refused and they held up treating his pneumonia until he would agree. He would not.
After 10 days of staying in ICU the pneumonia did it’s damage. He kept fighting for life another two weeks.
I got to stay with him two days and a night. He could not talk but I could. We discussed every adventure we had over our friendship and he smiled a lot.
You will be missed my old friend
The same was initially said about the Delta variant.
For those of us at 72 with 6 co-morbidities, it is still deadly.
No study is needed. Just look at the numbers from South Africa, as just one example.
The media is ignoring the fact that “Little O” is weaker than its brothers, and causes the sniffles, mainly.
As someone else pointed out, what you need with the Omicron variant is a box of Kleenex.
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