Medical staff at the COVID-19 ward in Massachusetts, USA. [AFP = 연합뉴스]A study result showed that the COVID-19 omicron mutant virus had lower severity, mortality, and hospitalization rates than the delta mutant.
CNBC reported on the 12th (local time) that the mortality rate of Omicron was 91% lower than that of Delta, which was the dominant species, in a study conducted by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley, a local medical institution, on the 12th (local time).
According to the researchers, the severe conversion rate and hospitalization probability of Omicron confirmed patients are 74% and 52% lower than those of Delta, respectively. The hospital stay was also short, regarding 3 days, and none of the patients hospitalized with Omicron needed a ventilator.
This is the result of a comparative analysis of regarding 52,000 omicron patients and 17,000 delta patients from November 30 last year to this month. However, this study has not yet been peer-reviewed.
“The reduction in the severity of omicron mutation infection was evident in both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, and in all patients with or without a history of confirmed COVID-19,” the researchers emphasized.
This study is noteworthy in that it supports existing studies that Omicron is highly contagious but has relatively weak symptoms.
Last month, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NICD) in South Africa announced that hospitalization rates for those infected with Omicron were regarding 80 percent lower than those with other mutations such as Delta.
Researchers at Imperial College London (ICL) in the UK also found that people with Omicron mutation are 40 to 45 percent less likely to have to be hospitalized for more than a day compared to Delta infections.
Meanwhile, on the 14th, the Korean government announced the ‘Strategy to respond to the spread of Omicron for a sustainable recovery of daily life’, and if the Omicron pandemic becomes a reality, such as the daily number of confirmed COVID-19 once more exceeds 7,000, the self-quarantine period will be reduced from the current 10 days to 7 days. did with
In addition, local hospitals will also be able to test and treat COVID-19, and plans to vaccinate children aged 5 to 11 will be prepared within the next month.
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