Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Room at the White House in Washington, DC, April 13, 2021.
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Early studies show that the omicron variant, while highly transmissible, causes less illness than the deadly plains coronavirus strain, Dr Anthony Fauci said on Wednesday.
Fauci, President, said: “All indications are that the severity of omicrons is lower than delta. Joe BidenTop health adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, during a White House press conference on Covid.
“The data is encouraging, but still preliminary in many respects,” says Fauci.
But “we shouldn’t be complacent,” he noted, because the “extreme volume” of omicron cases could still overwhelm some healthcare systems even if the new variant causes few imports. more hospital.
Fauci added: “The risk of serious illness from any circulating variant, including Omicron, is much higher for people who have not been vaccinated. “And so, adults and children who qualify, are vaccinated, and those who have been vaccinated, get a health boost when they’re eligible.”
Fauci’s analysis is presented as Covid cases, fueled by the rapid spread of omicrons, reached record highs in many countries, including the US Hospitalizations are also increasing, but not at the same rate as new cases. However, hospitalizations are often several days later than new infections.
“The modeling and disparity between cases and hospitalizations suggest that the hospitalization rate per case will be lower as the situation becomes clearer,” Fauci said.
More children are being infected with omicrons, Fauci said. But he noted that “many children are hospitalized for Covid, as opposed to because of Covid,” adding that no final decision has been made on the severity of the variant in children.
The omicron variant also showed “a degree of avoidance immunity” from antibodies, including those caused by existing vaccines, Fauci said. But the booster shots “bring that level of protection back to roughly what it was before,” he said.
“So boosters are very important in making our omicron approach optimal,” says Fauci.
He then highlighted some recent data collected from South Africa, the UK and the US, all of which show a lower risk of hospitalization or death from omicrons compared with other Covid waves.
The South African study also showed fewer patients requiring intensive care hospitalization, fewer patients requiring supplemental oxygen, and shorter hospital stays for omicron cases compared with infections from viral episodes. earlier, Fauci said.
A study of UK Health Security AgencyMeanwhile, the risk of being hospitalized for an omicron infection is about 40% of the risk caused by the delta variant, Fauci noted.
Data from another study conducted by Imperial College London “Shows a significantly lower overall risk of Omicron hospitalization compared to plains,” said Fauci.
