New Omicron Variant Not As Severe As Initially Thought: 'Signals Are Bit Encouraging'

The new Omicron variant, first discovered in South Africa last month, may cause less serious illness than other COVID-19 strains, preliminary data showed.

A report published Saturday by the South African Medical Research Council suggested that the Omicron strain spreads rapidly but is less likely to be as dangerous as the Delta variant. The report also said that many of the recent admissions with COVID-19 involved the younger population.

"In the last two weeks, no fewer than 80% of admissions were below the age of 50 years. This is in keeping with the age profile of admissions in all public and private hospitals in Tshwane and throughout the Gauteng Province in the last two weeks ... Nineteen (19) percent were children aged 0-9 years and the highest number of admissions was in the age group 30-39 years, making up 28 percent of the total," the report stated.

Researchers, who observed patients at the Biko/Tshwane District Hospital Complex where Omicron was first detected, said patients who tested positive with COVID-19 after the new variant’s discovery had much less severe symptoms than patients admitted before. They added that the majority of patients who tested positive for the virus were admitted to the hospital for other, unrelated medical reasons.

One of the main observations pointed out in the report was that most COVID-19 patients were not oxygen dependent, which was the case in earlier waves.

However, experts warn against placing too much stock in early reports, noting that the variant was only discovered last month and more study is still needed. Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser and the top infectious disease expert in the United States, echoed the warnings, adding that scientists needed more information about the variant.

“We have really got to be careful before we make any determinations that it is less severe or it really doesn’t cause any severe illness, comparable to the delta,” Fauci told CNN’s “State of the Union” He added that the Biden administration is considering lifting travel restrictions for several African countries.

The Omicron variant has so far been detected in more than 30 countries. Many health experts believe the variant could displace Delta, which remains the predominant form of COVID-19 in many places, according to The New York Times.