Why does omicron appear to cause less severe disease than previous variants?

By Paul Hunter, Professor of Medicine, University of East Anglia

As soon as omicron was first identified in Botswana and South Africa, two key questions arose: whether this new variant was more infectious than earlier ones, and whether it caused more or less severe disease.

It’s clear from how rapidly the variant has spread and how quickly cases have increased that it is more infectious. But the question of whether omicron has less harmful effects than previous variants – whether it is less “virulent” – is somewhat more complex.

Early results…

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