According to a Danish study published last week, the Omicron coronavirus variant is stronger at evading vaccinated people's immunity compared to the Delta variant, which may be the explanation of why the Omicron variant is spreading faster.
Scientists have been scrambling to figure out whether the extensively mutated Omicron variant causes less serious illness from Covid-19 and why it is apparently more infectious compared to the previously dominant Delta variant since it was identified in South Africa in November last year.
A virus's transmissibility can be increased for a variety of reasons, including the length of time it remains in the air, its capacity to hook onto cells, or its ability to evade the body's immune system.
In mid-December, scientists looked into roughly 12,000 Danish households and discovered that Omicron was 2.7 to 3.7 times more contagious compared to the Delta variant within people who were already vaccinated.
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Statistics Denmark, and Statens Serum Institut (SSI) believe the virus is spreading more quickly because it is stronger at resisting vaccine induced protection.
"Our findings confirm that the rapid spread of the Omicron (variant) primarily can be ascribed to the immune evasiveness rather than an inherent increase in the basic transmissibility," the researchers said. The study has yet to be peer-reviewed.
Seventy-eight per cent of Danes have had all of their vaccinations, with roughly 48 per cent are n the process of receiving a third "boosted" dose. Pfizer-vaccination BioNTech's has been given to more than eight out of ten Danes.
The study also discovered that people who have had a booster dose were less likely to spread the virus compared to those who were completely unvaccinated, regardless of the variant.
SSI's technical director, Tyra Grove Krause, told local media on Monday that while the Omicron variety is more transmissible, it appears to cause less serious disease.
"While Omicron will still be able to put pressure on our healthcare system, everything indicates that it is milder than the Delta variant," she said, adding the risk of being hospitalized with Omicron was half of that with Delta.
This is consistent with the findings of other Omicron research.
According to Danish data, less than five people were getting intensive care out of a total of 93 persons hospitalized to hospitals owing to COVID-19 from Omicron in late December.
"This may be what is going to lift us out of the pandemic so that this becomes the last wave of corona," Krause said.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
Scientists have been scrambling to figure out whether the extensively mutated Omicron variant causes less serious illness from Covid-19 and why it is apparently more infectious compared to the previously dominant Delta variant since it was identified in South Africa in November last year.
A virus's transmissibility can be increased for a variety of reasons, including the length of time it remains in the air, its capacity to hook onto cells, or its ability to evade the body's immune system.
In mid-December, scientists looked into roughly 12,000 Danish households and discovered that Omicron was 2.7 to 3.7 times more contagious compared to the Delta variant within people who were already vaccinated.
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Statistics Denmark, and Statens Serum Institut (SSI) believe the virus is spreading more quickly because it is stronger at resisting vaccine induced protection.
"Our findings confirm that the rapid spread of the Omicron (variant) primarily can be ascribed to the immune evasiveness rather than an inherent increase in the basic transmissibility," the researchers said. The study has yet to be peer-reviewed.
Seventy-eight per cent of Danes have had all of their vaccinations, with roughly 48 per cent are n the process of receiving a third "boosted" dose. Pfizer-vaccination BioNTech's has been given to more than eight out of ten Danes.
The study also discovered that people who have had a booster dose were less likely to spread the virus compared to those who were completely unvaccinated, regardless of the variant.
SSI's technical director, Tyra Grove Krause, told local media on Monday that while the Omicron variety is more transmissible, it appears to cause less serious disease.
"While Omicron will still be able to put pressure on our healthcare system, everything indicates that it is milder than the Delta variant," she said, adding the risk of being hospitalized with Omicron was half of that with Delta.
This is consistent with the findings of other Omicron research.
According to Danish data, less than five people were getting intensive care out of a total of 93 persons hospitalized to hospitals owing to COVID-19 from Omicron in late December.
"This may be what is going to lift us out of the pandemic so that this becomes the last wave of corona," Krause said.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
