Omicron symptoms less severe than Delta variant – study
People with Omicron are more likely to have a sore throat and less likely to lose their sense of smell compared to Delta, according to a new study.
Research indicates that people are also less likely to be admitted to hospital with the current dominant variant and that symptoms do not last as long in those who have been vaccinated as with Delta (6.87 days versus 8, 89 days).
The results support previous studies that suggest Omicron’s incubation time and period of infectivity are shorter than for previous coronavirus variants.
According to the research, the biggest difference was in the loss of sense of smell, which appeared in 52.7% of Delta cases and less than 20% of Omicron cases.
The two symptoms of Covid-19 that were consistently more prevalent across both variants – regardless of vaccination status – were a sore throat and a hoarse voice.
Researchers also found that some of the more debilitating symptoms, such as brain fog, burning eyes, dizziness, fever, and headache, were significantly less common in Omicron cases.
Dr Cristina Menni from King’s College London said: “We are seeing a different clinical presentation of symptoms in people infected with Omicron compared to Delta.
“While we move further away from the average patient with UK Government ‘core’ symptoms i.e. fever, persistent cough, loss of smell, our results indicate a different selection of symptoms may indicate an infection.
“To protect others, it’s always important to self-isolate for five days as soon as you see symptoms.”
Professor Ana Valdes, Honorary Professor at King’s College London, said: “While there is still a wide range of duration and severity of symptoms with Omicron, for those vaccinated we are seeing on average a longer duration of symptoms. short.
“This suggests that Omicron’s incubation time and period of infectivity may also be shorter.”
Researchers from King’s College London and Zoe scientists studied the symptoms of 62,002 vaccinated UK participants from the Zoe Covid Study app who tested positive between June 1 last year and November 27, 2021, when Delta was dominant, and from December 22, 2021 to January 17 of this year. when Omicron dominated.
The study will be presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) this month in Lisbon.