Numerous studies suggest that Omicron causes less damage to the lungs than other Covid varieties.
Study by Japanese and US scientists of hamsters, mice showed that Omicron infected animals had less damage to their lungs and had lower mortality rates than other varieties.
Omicron-infected mice had 10% less virus in their lungs, compared with those who were infected with other types.
The findings backed up another paper by researchers at the University of Hong Kong, who studied human tissue in Omicron victims.
Researchers found that Omicron developed slower in 12 samples of lungs than other strains.
Experts think that the super mutant variant is less likely to reproduce in lower portions of the lungs, leading to lesser severity.
Omicron-sufferers in South Africa were found to have a lower chance of ending up in the hospital than people with Delta. The risk is also lower according to a study done by UK Health and Security.
Roland Eils is a Berlin Institute of Health computational biologist. He said that there was an emerging theme suggesting that the variant tends not to be in the lungs.
An international consortium of Japanese and US scientists conducted a study on Syrian mice and found that Omicron-infected animals had lower lung damage and had lower mortality rates than the Delta variant.
These findings were supported by another study from the University of Hong Kong that looked at human tissue taken from Omicron victims. The researchers found that Omicron developed slower in 12 samples of lungs than other strains.
This study has been published preprint on MedRxiv and is not peer-reviewed. The researchers found that 2,61% (2.5%) of Omicron patients who were identified between October 1, and November 30, 2012, had to be admitted to hospital. The study was compared to 948 non Omicron cases, almost all of them Delta cases, that were behind 95 percent of Omicron-related cases, where 121 patients were admitted (12.8%). Researchers found that Omicron patients had a lower likelihood of needing to be admitted.
The New York Times quoted him as saying that “the idea of a disorder that manifests primarily within the upper respiratory system” is becoming more common.
The first paper, which has been published as a pre-print on Research Gate and has not yet been peer-reviewed, looked at tissue samples in mice and hamsters.
The Omicron variant of the virus was found in mice. Researchers also examined other viruses, including Delta.
The researchers found Omicron infected individuals had less severe symptoms.
And they were particularly struck by how Syrian hamsters — a breed which is particularly susceptible to previous strains — had lower levels of illness with the variant.
Washington University virologist Dr Michael Diamond was a co-author. He said that this finding is surprising as every variant of the virus has infected these animals.
Meanwhile, the second study by Hong Kong scientists — also not peer-reviewed — looked at Omicron in the lung cells of humans.
The virus reproduces much less in lower parts of the lungs, according to the researchers.
The researchers also studied cells in the bronchi — the tubes in the upper chest delivering air to the lungs — finding that the variant 70 times as apparent in those cells.
The virus is more prevalent in the upper chest, which makes it easier to transmit because of its rapid expulsion in the lungs.
However, they suggested it could be due to lower levels in the lungs. This may explain the reduction in severity that has been shown by large amounts of research.
These authors stated that Omicron could have reduced clinical severity. But, these interpretations should be qualified since the severity of Covid-19’s disease can not only depend on virus replication but also upon dysregulated immune responses.
It comes after a British analysis of more than a million cases of Omicron and Delta in recent weeks found the risk of hospitalisation with the now dominant variant is about one-third that of its predecessor.
Britain has seen a rise in Covid cases due to the highly transmissible variant. Yesterday’s record-breaking number of infections was 189,846.
Hospital admissions are on the rise but the government believes that the new variant of the Delta is more gentle than it.
Non-peak periods in the past, December saw a steady increase in patients who needed mechanical ventilation beds.
After working with the Cambridge University MRC Biostatistics unit, it published the analysis.
The study also showed that Omicron vaccines work.
The UKHSA stated that Omicron patients with symptoms or asymptomatic infections are at lower risk for hospitalization after receiving two to three vaccine doses. There was an 81% reduction in hospitalization risk after the third dose, compared with unvaccinated Omicron patients.
Susan Hopkins (UKHSA Chief Medical Advisor) said that while the analysis is in line with Omicron’s encouraging signs, it still suggests the UKHSA may struggle to deal with the high rate of transmission.
She stated that it was too soon to make any conclusions about hospital severity. However, the increasing transmissibility and rising incidence of Omicron in over-60s in England mean that the NHS will likely be under significant pressure in the coming weeks.