A British study, published by in the scientific journal the lancet, confirms that when infected with the Omicron variant, the clinical risks are less important and symptoms last less than with Delta. Some symptoms are also more common with this new strain of SARS-CoV-2.
New Symptoms That Last Less With Omicron? In a study published Thursday, April 7 in the journal the lancet, researchers in the United Kingdom have paid close attention to the risks of developing severe forms and in the conditions associated with the variant discovered in South Africa more than five months ago. The goal: to assess the differences in symptoms that exist between the Delta variant – which will appear in France for several months in 2021 – and the Omicron variant, which gradually replaced it last December.
Also read:
Covid-19: Thrombosis, pulmonary embolism… a study confirms “increased risk” of severe symptoms after infection
In practice, scientists at King’s College London relied on data from the British public health app ZOE. They studied nearly 63,000 patient testimonials, all of them vaccinated before being infected with Covid-19. The finding? The symptoms of people infected with Omicron do not last as long as with a Delta infection:
- For people who have not received no vaccination boostersymptoms were observed during 8.3 days with Omicron contamination (against 9.6 days with the Delta variant).
- For people who have got a booster shot† 4.4 days symptoms have been observed with Omicron against 7.7 days with Delta.
Symptoms change
In addition to symptoms that last for a shorter period of time in the patient, the researchers also found a significant change in conditions: “The Omicron variant and its BA.2 subvariant will ‘nest’ in the upper respiratory tract, whereas previously the virus attacked the bronchi,” explained GP Jérôme Marty on March 30, in our columns†
The symptoms observed by doctors today are therefore different. In this new UK study, only 17% of Omicron-infected patients lost taste and the smell (against 53% with the Delta variant). Fever and persistent cough, common with Delta, were seen less frequently with Omicron. Conversely, the sore throat are much more common with the Omicron variant, which has a “much greater impact on the level of what is called the ‘ENT’ sphere (ears, nose, sinuses, mouth, tongue, throat),” added Dr. Marty to it. This study also confirms that the Omicron variant is less dangerous than Delta, reducing the risk of hospitalization by nearly 25%.
Also read:
Covid-19: “hypoxia”, “brain fog”… these new symptoms that could make it possible to know if you are infected
As the research work was carried out several months ago, this study gives no indication of the clinical risks associated with the BA.2 subvariant, which today represents more than 92% of infections in France. However, they will soon be presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.
