Omicron is five times as likely re-infect than Delta study

Omicron is five times as likely re-infect than Delta study. 

The risk of getting re-infected of Omicron coronavirus variant Omicron coronavirus type is five times greater. 

It has not shown any signs of being milder than Delta. On the contrary, the study conducted by Imperial College London showed that the number of cases rises throughout Europe and could disrupt the festivities of year-end. 

The study was taken from UK Health Security Agency and National Health Service data on individuals who were positive for COVID-19 during a PCR test in England between November 29 through December 11.

“We have no evidence (for both the risk of hospitalization or condition of symptom) of Omicron being different in severity from Delta,” the study stated. Still, it also noted that hospitalization data is minimal.

“Controlling for vaccination status age, gender and ethnicity, asymptomatic status or region, as well as the date of the specimen. Omicron was associated with a 5.4-fold greater risk of reinfection when compared to Delta,” the study that was published on December 16, added.

“This means that the security against reinfections through Omicron provided by previous infections could be as lower as 19%.” Imperial College added in an announcement, pointing out that the study hadn’t yet been peer-reviewed.

A previous study conducted by the British SIREN studied the risk of reinfection for health professionals before Omicron was discovered. 

It showed that a coronavirus infection in the first instance gave 85% protection from an additional infection for the following six months.

The analysis conducted by Imperial College was based on 333,000 cases, which included the 122,062 cases in Delta and 1,846 cases that were confirmed to be the Omicron coronavirus variant by genome sequencing.

The latest findings could lead to the introduction of more restrictive restrictions in a variety of European nations in a bid to limit the variant’s spreading.