Coronavirus: Omicron variant ‘almost certainly’ not more severe than Delta, says Fauci
- According to Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, early indications suggested the omicron variant is possibly milder than prior strains
- He added that while less severe, it is still highly transmissible
Dr Anthony Fauci said during the daily briefing at the White House on Wednesday that while the omicron variant of the coronavirus is rapidly spreading throughout the United States, early indications suggest it may be less dangerous than Delta. Photo: APTop US scientist Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that while it would take weeks to judge the severity of the new Covid-19 variant Omicron, early indications suggested it was not worse than prior strains, and possibly milder.
Speaking to AFP, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser broke down the knowns and unknowns about Omicron into three major areas: transmissibility, how well it evades immunity from prior infection and vaccines, and severity of illness.
The new variant is “clearly highly transmissible,” very likely more so than Delta, the current dominant global strain, Fauci said.
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Accumulating epidemiological data from around the world also indicates reinfections are higher with Omicron.
Fauci, the long-time director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said lab experiments that tested the potency of antibodies from current vaccines against Omicron should come in the “next few days to a week.”
On the question of severity, “it almost certainly is not more severe than Delta,” said Fauci.
“There is some suggestion that it might even be less severe, because when you look at some of the cohorts that are being followed in South Africa, the ratio between the number of infections and the number of hospitalisation seems to be less than with Delta.”
But he added it was important to not over-interpret this data because the populations being followed skewed young, and were less likely to become hospitalised.
“I think that’s going to take another couple of weeks at least in South Africa,” where the variant was first reported in November, he said.
“As we get more infections throughout the rest of the world, it might take longer to see what’s the level of severity.”
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Fauci said a more transmissible virus that does not cause more severe illness and does not lead to a surge of hospitalisation and deaths was the “best case scenario.”
“The worst case scenario is that it is not only highly transmissible, but it also causes severe disease and then you have another wave of infections that are not necessarily blunted by the vaccine or by people’s prior infections,” he added.
“I don’t think that worst case scenario is going to come about, but you never know.”