Scientists from Johns Hopkins found that patients hospitalized with the omicron or delta variants of COVID-19 required similar levels of respiratory support and intensive care.
The finding suggests that omicron infections should not be underestimated.
The research is published in eBioMedicine and was conducted by Heba Mostafa et al.
It is a common belief that the omicron variant is less severe than previous variants
In the study, the team wanted to put that to the test and see whether clinical outcomes and viral loads actually differed between delta and omicron infections.
They collected clinical specimens from over 2,000 patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, then determined which variant each patient had been infected with.
Next, they measured viral load—the amount of the virus found in each patient’s body. Finally, they obtained each patient’s clinical outcome for comparison.
The researchers found that patients with omicron were less likely than patients with delta to require hospitalization, regardless of vaccination status.
Only 3% of patients with omicron were admitted to the hospital, compared with 13.8% of patients with delta.
They also found that patients with omicron who required hospitalization showed a similar need for supplemental oxygen and intensive care as hospitalized patients with delta.
Of patients with omicron admitted to the hospital, 67.6% required supplemental oxygen and 17.6% were taken to the intensive care unit (ICU).
Similarly, 73% of patients hospitalized with delta needed supplemental oxygen, and 25.4% required ICU-level care.
The study found no big differences in viral loads between patients with omicron and those with delta, regardless of vaccination status.
These findings showed it is imperative for people to take omicron and potential future variants seriously.
It’s true that patients with omicron were significantly less likely to be admitted to the hospital than patients with delta.
But omicron patients who did need hospitalization faced a risk of severe disease compared to those hospitalized with delta. For many people, it is not a mild infection at all.
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