Unvaccinated individuals infected with the Omicron variant may be less likely to develop severe illness and need hospital care or die, compared to the risk with previous variants, noted a South African study.

The study, led by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) in the Western Cape region, compared around 11,600 patients from the first three COVID-19 waves with nearly 5,100 patients from the Omicron-fuelled wave. The study noted that nearly one-fourth of the reduced risk of severe disease with the Omicron variant was attributable to the features of the virus itself.

Worldwide, Omicron has been shown to cause less severe disease, and comparatively lesser hospital admissions and deaths, compared to previous variants… (ET Healthworld – Reuters, January 15, 2022)