In a new study from the CDC COVID-19 Emergency Response Team, researchers found COVID-19 cases have increased with the emergence of the Omicron variant, but disease severity seems not to have increased.
They examined data from three surveillance systems and a large health care database to understand the severity of disease and health care utilization linked to the emergence of the Omicron variant in the United States.
Multiple indicators were assessed across three high-COVID-19 transmission periods: Dec. 1, 2020, to Feb. 28, 2021 (winter 2020 to 2021); July 15 to Oct. 31, 2021 (delta predominance); and Dec. 19, 2021, to Jan. 15, 2022 (Omicron predominance).
The team found that during the Omicron period, the highest daily seven-day moving average to date of cases (798,976 daily cases during Jan. 9 to 15, 2022), emergency department visits (48,238), and admissions (21,586) were reported.
Compared with previous periods, the highest daily seven-day moving average of deaths was lower during Omicron (1,854 deaths).
A maximum of 20.6% of staffed inpatient beds were in use for COVID-19 patients during the Omicron period, which was 3.4% and 7.2% higher than during winter 2020 to 2021 and delta periods, respectively.
The team also found intensive care unit (ICU) bed use did not increase to the same extent.
Compared with the previous periods, during the Omicron period, the mean length of stay and percentages admitted to ICU, who received invasive mechanical ventilation, and died in the hospital were lower.
The team says although patients hospitalized during the Omicron period have shorter stays and less frequent ICU admissions, the high volume of hospitalizations resulting from high transmission rates during a short period can strain local health care systems in the United States.
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The study is published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, and was conducted by A. Danielle Iuliano, et al.
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