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Low risk of long Covid after Omicron infection

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Dr Surya Kant, Professor and Head, Dept. of Respiratory Medicine, KGMU, UP, Lucknow. National Vice Chairman IMA-AMS    20 June 2022

A new study of more than 50,000 adults from the UK has shown that the chances of developing long Covid are considerably less following infection with the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant compared to the delta variant.1

Antonelli et al examined the likelihood of long-Covid among Covid-19 patients infected during the Omicron wave and delta wave. A total of 56,003 Omicron cases between December 2021 to March 2022 were compared with 41,361 delta cases between June 2021 and November 2021. Asymptomatic as well as symptomatic cases, who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 after vaccination and had no history of SARS-CoV-2 infection before vaccination, were included. The average age of the participants was 53 years and the prevalence of comorbidities was 19%. The Zoe Covid Symptom app was used to track the symptoms. Based on the time between the infection and the last Covid-19 vaccine, patients were categorized into three groups: 3 months, 3 to 6 months and more than 6 months.

Results published in The Lancet showed that 2501 (4.5%) of the 56,003 Omicron cases and 4469 (10.8%) of the 41,361 delta cases developed long Covid symptoms. The likelihood of long Covid among Omicron infections was lower for all vaccine timings with odds ratio of 0.24-0.50.

According to the authors, this is the first study to examine the risk of long Covid following infection with the Omicron variant. It has shown that the odds of developing long Covid was nearly 50% higher with delta infection compared to omicron infection. Despite the apparently reduced risk with Omicron variant, there is a need for surveillance of these patients for symptoms of long Covid such as fatigue, headache, brain fog, after recovery from acute infection.

Reference

  1. AntonelliM, et al. Risk of long COVID associated with delta versus omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2. Lancet June 18.2022;399(10343):2263-2264. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00941-2

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