12-22-2021, 08:59 PM
Data from South Africa appears to indicate lower severity for Omicron. Data from the UK, however, appears to indicate similar severity. Both conclusions are still preliminary, and it's not clear to me that the differences are controlled for other factors, such as the vaccination level of patients checked. I do expect we'll learn more in the coming weeks.
That said, the encouraging news from South Africa shows rapidly dropping new case counts nationally, and even more so in Gauteng province, the first hotspot for Omicron.
And the Hong Kong study (not yet peer-reviewed), indicating that Omicron infects the throat rapidly but lungs are affected less than Delta, would also indicate good news, if confirmed by other studies or a peer review.
But for all of that, we really don't know yet.
That said, the encouraging news from South Africa shows rapidly dropping new case counts nationally, and even more so in Gauteng province, the first hotspot for Omicron.
And the Hong Kong study (not yet peer-reviewed), indicating that Omicron infects the throat rapidly but lungs are affected less than Delta, would also indicate good news, if confirmed by other studies or a peer review.
But for all of that, we really don't know yet.