Omicron hospitalisation rate up to 70% lower: UK govt agency

LONDON: The risk of hospitalisation is up to 70% lower among people infected with the Omicron variant compared with previously dominant Delta, a UK government agency said Thursday.

The UK's Health Security Agency (UKHSA)said in a briefing its latest research into Omicron cases in the country had found that "an individual with Omicron is estimated to be between 31 and 45% less likely to attend A&E (hospital emergency departments) compared to Delta, and 50 to 70% less likely to be admitted to hospital".

It cautioned that the results were "preliminary and highly uncertain" since they are based on a small sample of cases of hospitalisations so far where Omicron has been confirmed.

There have been 132 such hospitalisations, more than 40% of them in London, it said.

Of those requiring hospitalisation, 17 had received a booster vaccine, while 74 people had received two doses and 27 people were not vaccinated.

Two studies from Britain previously showed COVID-19 infections with Omicron are less likely to result in hospitalisation compared to the Delta variant.