Posted ,
Reading 2 mins.
American researchers have looked at the risk of hospitalizations and deaths linked to Covid-19 according to the variant and independently of the levels of immunity of the general population. According to their work conducted on 70,000 infected people, the risk of hospitalization and death is much lower with the Omicron variant compared to Delta.
People infected with Omicron were half as likely to be hospitalized as those with Delta, according to this work. The risk of being placed in intensive care was reduced by around 75%, and that of dying by more than 90%.
Fewer hospitalizations and fewer deaths with Omicron
Among the more than 52,000 people infected with Omicron followed by this study, none needed an artificial respirator, compared to 11 people among the nearly 17,000 infected with Delta.
Additionally, the median length of hospital stay was 1.5 days for Omicron, compared to nearly 5 days for Delta. This analysis was conducted using data from the Kaiser Permanente California hospital system, during the month of December 2021, when the two variants were circulating widely.
These data reinforce those accumulated with the populations of other countries, for example in South Africa or Great Britain. But also those that have shown — in animals or ex vivo (outside the human body) — that Omicron replicates more in the upper airways (nose, throat) than in the lungs, where severe forms of Covid start. -19.
Reduced but effective vaccine protection against severe forms
The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, was conducted by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, Kaiser Permanente and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “The study took into account important parameters such as age, sex, past SARS-CoV-2 infections, vaccination status and comorbidities“, Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, said Wednesday, citing this study at length during a press conference.
The results thus show that Omicron is “inherently less severe“that Delta, and not only that people with more immunity (after a past infection or a vaccine) currently catch it, explains the study. Moreover, if this work noted a reduced effectiveness of vaccines against infections linked to Omicron, the protection was still substantial against severe forms of the disease.
Hospital pressure maintained
Despite everything, Ms. Walensky pointed out that the very high contagiousness of Omicron mechanically led to a large number of hospitalizations, putting pressure on a healthcare system whose staff have already been put to the test for two years. The country is currently registering an average of 750,000 new cases per day, and around 1,600 deaths daily. More than 150,000 people are currently hospitalized with Covid-19 in the United States, a record.
Consult a GP online
Children and adolescents affected in France
In France, the Omicron wave continues to sweep across the country and is now affecting the youngest. The incidence rate in children and adolescents is exploding as confirmed by these figures from Public Health France of January 13: “0-17 year olds – 21.5% of the French population – represent between 3 and 5% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.. A number that has been on the rise for several weeks. However, despite this constant increase in figures, the conclusions of the Public Health France report are reassuring and consider that “the data does not support an increased severity of Covid-19 currently in children”.