S.African study offers Omicron hope as countries reimpose curbs

A South African study offered pre-Christmas good tidings about the severity of Omicron on Wednesday as the fast-spreading coronavirus variant forces countries across the world to impose new curbs.

Governments urged citizens to vaccinate as Omicron becomes the dominant strain, upending reopening plans that many had hoped would herald the end of the pandemic, and unnerving financial markets.

Germany, Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands and South Korea have reimposed partial or full lockdowns or other social distancing measures in 
recent days.

German health experts said on Wednesday that new curbs probably did not go far enough as the health minister said he had not ruled out a full lockdown.

Omicron was first detected last month in southern Africa and Hong Kong. Studies indicate it is more resistant to vaccines developed before it emerged.

However, the South African study suggested that those infected with Omicron were less likely to end up in hospital than those with Delta.

The study by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and major universities, which had not been peer-reviewed, compared South African Omicron data from October and November with data about Delta between April and November.

The authors found that the risk of hospital admission was roughly 80% lower for those with Omicron, and that for those in hospital the risk of severe disease was roughly 30% lower. “In South Africa, this is the epidemiology: Omicron is behaving in a way that is less severe,” said Professor Cheryl Cohen of the NICD, one of 
the authors.

“Compellingly, together our data really suggest a positive story of a reduced severity of Omicron compared to other variants.”
JERUSALEM, Dec 22 (Reuters)