The new Omicron variant of the coronavirus seems to be milder as stated by early studies published in the United Kingdom and South Africa, reports the BBC.
According to preliminary evidence, fewer people are in need of hospitalization when compared to other variants – with estimates ranging from a 30% to a 70% reduction.
Nonetheless, a concern remains – even if illnesses tied to the Omicron variant are milder, the sheer number of cases may overload healthcare facilities across the globe.
More than 100,000 cases were reported in the UK in a single day for the first time in the 24 hours to 9am on Wednesday.
A more comprehensive understanding of Omicron’s severity will help governments better decide how to tackle the variant.
The study in Scotland has been tracking the number of people being hospitalized for Covid-19. It said if Omicron behaved the same way as the Delta variant, about 47 people would have been admitted to the hospital already. But the number is only 15 at the moment.
The researchers said there is approximately a 66% reduction in the number of patients needing hospitalization, but there are very few cases and few at-risk elderlies in the study.
Dr Jim McMenamin, national Covid-19 incident director at Public Health Scotland, termed it a "qualified good news story".
The data is "filling in a blank" about protection against hospitalizations, he said, before cautioning that it is important not to get ahead of oneself.
Meanwhile, Prof Mark Woolhouse of the University of Edinburgh said individual infections may be milder for most people, but all these infections could occur rapidly and overwhelm the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
Another study in South Africa suggests that Omicron is milder. It showed that patients are 70-80% less likely to need hospital care.
However, it said there is no difference in outcomes for the few patients that do end up getting hospitalized with Omicron.
"Compellingly, together our data really suggest a positive story of a reduced severity of Omicron compared to other variants," Prof Cheryl Cohen, from South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases, told the BBC.