More data suggests the Omicron variant causes milder disease compared to the Delta variant.

Symptom prevalence, duration, and risk of hospital admission in individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 during periods of omicron and delta variant dominance: a prospective observational study from the ZOE COVID Study – The Lancet

Commentary: Covid-19: Symptomatic infection with omicron variant is milder and shorter than with delta, study reports – The BMJ

Related:

Another study suggests a lower risk of hospitalization and death from infection with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant vs. Delta.

Perspective: Challenges in inferring intrinsic severity of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.

Early assessment of the clinical severity of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant in South Africa.

Cohort Study: Incidence rates and clinical outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection with the Omicron and Delta variants in children younger than 5 years in the US.

[Preprint] SARS-CoV-2 Omicron virus causes attenuated disease in mice and hamsters.

[Preprint] Study showed reduced clinical severity of Covid-19 patients admitted to hospitals in Gauteng, South Africa, during the Omicron-dominant fourth wave – “any combination of a less-virulent virus, comorbidities, high immunity from prior infection(s) or vaccination may be important contributors to this clinical presentation”.

Early data from South Africa hints Omicron variant may cause less severe Covid, but more research is needed.

Too early to tell, but preliminary information from doctors in South Africa suggests the new Covid variant Omicron may be associated with less severe disease.