Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks at a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that early studies suggest the omicron variant causes less severe illness than the deadly delta strain of the coronaviruses.
Fauci said that all indications point to a lesser severity of omicron versus delta.
Fauci said that the data are encouraging, but still preliminary.
Even if the new variant causes fewer hospitalizations, the high volume of omicron cases could still overwhelm some health-care systems.
The risk of severe disease from any circulating variant is much higher for the unvaccinated. Adults and children who are eligible for vaccinations get boosted when eligible.
Covid cases have hit record highs in many nations, but not with the same speed as new cases. hospitalizations lag new infections by a few days.
Fauci said the pattern and disparity between cases and hospitalization strongly suggest that there will be a lower hospitalization-to-case ratio when the situation becomes more clear.
Fauci said that more children are being exposed to omicron. Many children are hospitalized with Covid, as opposed to because of Covid, but no final determination has been made about the variant's severity in kids.
Fauci said that the omicron variant shows a degree of immune evasion from the currently available vaccines. He said that booster shots bring back a level of protection that is close to what it was before.
Fauci said that boosters were critical in getting the approach to omicron to be optimal.
He highlighted some recent data collected from South Africa, the United Kingdom and the U.S., all of which suggested a lower risk of hospitalization or death from omicron compared with other waves of Covid.
Fauci said that the South African study showed fewer infections to the intensive care units, fewer patients in need of supplemental oxygen, and shorter hospital stays for omicron cases.
The UK Health Security Agency found that 40% of the risk of hospital admission for an omicron infection is due to the delta variant.
Fauci said that the data from the Imperial College London study shows a reduction in the risk of hospitalization for Omicron.
