April 8, 2022
The COVID-19 signs brought on by the Omicron variant are inclined to final about two days shorter than signs from the Delta variant, in line with a brand new examine printed in The Lancet.
As well as, amongst totally vaccinated individuals, a symptomatic Omicron an infection was 25% much less more likely to end in a hospital admission as in contrast with Delta.
“The shorter presentation of signs suggests (pending affirmation from viral load research) that the interval of infectiousness may be shorter, which might in flip impression office well being insurance policies and public well being steerage,” the examine authors wrote.
Researchers from King’s Faculty London analyzed knowledge from the ZOE COVID app, which collects knowledge on self-reported signs. On this examine, the researchers centered on vaccinated individuals who saved a smartphone log of their COVID-19 signs after breakthrough infections developed.
The analysis workforce analyzed knowledge from June by way of November 2021, when the Delta variant accounted for greater than 70% of instances, and from December by way of mid-January, when Omicron accounted for greater than 70% of instances. The sufferers — about 5,000 in every group — had been matched and in contrast with an individual of the identical age, intercourse and vaccination dose within the different group.
Omicron’s shorter symptom period was extra outstanding amongst individuals with three vaccine doses. Signs lasted about 7.7 days in the course of the Delta-dominant months and 4.4 days in the course of the Omicron-dominant months, that means a distinction of three.3 days.
Amongst these with two vaccine doses, signs from Delta lasted for 9.6 days and signs from Omicron lasted for 8.3 days, making a distinction of 1.3 days.
The varieties of signs additionally diverse. Lack of odor was extra widespread in the course of the Delta interval, and sore throat and hoarse voice had been extra widespread in the course of the Omicron interval. Each coronavirus variants had widespread signs akin to runny nostril, headache and sneezing, however debilitating signs akin to mind fog, dizziness and fever had been much less prevalent in Omicron instances.
As well as, there was a decrease fee of hospital admission in the course of the Omicron interval than in the course of the Delta interval, the examine authors wrote, probably resulting from much less involvement of the decrease respiratory tract in Omicron infections.
“The scientific signs related to symptomatic an infection by the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant are totally different, milder, and of shorter period than these introduced by the delta variant amongst vaccinated people,” the examine authors wrote. “Nevertheless, this won’t be the case in unvaccinated people.”