Omicron spreads faster, but those infected show milder symptoms
However, it seems the Omicron variant makes most people less ill. Patients’ prognoses are probably improved by vaccines and previous infections, but breakthrough infections – where people have been vaccinated and/or have had Sars-CoV-2 before and get infected again – are widespread, says Professor Willem Hanekom, head of the Africa Health Research Institute at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Dr Michelle Groome, head of public health at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, said on Friday that there was an increase in hospitalisations, but they are not increasing as fast as with previous waves.According to Groome, for now patients are staying in hospital for a shorter time than before and end up significantly less often in intensive care and need less oxygen.
Friedland’s observations are in line with those of Dr Mathabo Mathebula, head of the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria.The few patients in intensive care are not there due to Covid-19. According to Mathebula, 79% of Covid-19 patients were admitted to the hospital for other conditions and tested positive on admission.
Regarding how contagious it is, Van Vuuren says Omicron surpasses its predecessors and its incubation period [how quickly someone catches the virus after contact and can pass it on] is significantly shorter. “There was a sharp decline in the vaccine’s effectiveness in neutralising Omicron, but it has not disappeared,” Sigal said, adding that protection against infection was higher among the six who were vaccinated and had previously contracted Covid-19.
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