The risk of being admitted to hospital is up to 70% less for people with Omicron compared to those infected with Delta, according to the first UK government study of its kind.
People with Omicron are estimated to be between 31% and 45% less likely to go to A&E compared with those with Delta, and 50% to 70% less likely to require admission to hospital, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The early findings, described as “encouraging” and “promising”, are consistent with analysis published on Wednesday by Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh.
However, health leaders also warned that cases in the UK continued to increase at an “extraordinary rate” and that the sheer numbers of people becoming infected could still result in a significant number of people becoming seriously ill, and the risk of the NHS becoming overwhelmed.
The UKHSA said the new variant was more transmissible than previous ones such as Delta, and could still lead to significant numbers of people needing hospital treatment over the coming weeks.
The new data emerged after the UK experienced yet another record-breaking number of daily reported Covid cases, with 119,789 reported as of 9am on Thursday.
Dr Jenny Harries, the chief executive of the UKHSA, said: “Our latest analysis shows an encouraging early signal that people who contract the Omicron variant may be at a relatively lower risk of hospitalisation than those who contract other variants. However, it should be noted both that this is early data and more research is required to confirm these findings.
“Cases are currently very high in the UK, and even a relatively low proportion requiring hospitalisation could result in a significant number of people becoming seriously ill. The best way that you can protect yourself is to come forward for your first two doses of vaccine, or your booster jab and do everything you can to stop onward transmission of the infection.”
The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is less likely to result in severe disease and hospital admission, the UKHSA data suggests.
However, Omicron is believed to be infecting more people who have previously had Covid, with 9.5% of people with Omicron having had the virus before.
Vaccination is also believed to give less protection against Omicron, although a booster jab provides more protection against symptomatic disease compared with the first two doses alone. The preliminary UKHSA data suggests protection starts to wane 10 weeks after booster vaccination.
The health secretary, Sajid 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.”
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