US Study Shows Omicron As Severe As Previous COVID Variants: Reuters

A large U.S. study has found that the omicron variant of the SARS-CoV2 virus is intrinsically as severe as previous variants, unlike assumptions made in earlier studies that it was more transmissible but less severe, Reuters report.
"We found that the risks of hospitalization and mortality were nearly identical between periods," said four scientists who conducted the study based on records of 130,000 COVID-19 patients, referring to times in the past two years when different variants were dominant.
The studies that assumed that the omicron variant was less severe were conducted in various places, including South Africa, Scotland, England, and Canada.
They said their study could have several limitations, including the possibility that it underestimated the number of vaccinated patients in more recent COVID waves and the total number of infections because it excluded patients who performed at-home rapid tests.
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