Study shows Omicron sub-variant no more severe than first strain

A South African study showed that the risk of hospitalisation from the omicron BA.2 sub-variant is similar to that from the original strain, a senior scientist said.

The study in the country, where the BA.2 strain is now dominant, may not extrapolate to other countries as most of the immunity South Africans have is from prior infections with Covid-19 rather than vaccinations, Cheryl Cohen, head of the Centre for Respiratory Diseases at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, said on an online press conference. That could give better protection she said.

The emergence of BA.2 caused concern as it appears to be more transmissible than BA.1, the strain first identified.