Risk of hospital stay 40% lower with Omicron than Delta, UK data suggests

People who test positive with the Omicron variant are on average 15% less likely than Delta cases to attend hospital and have a 40% lower risk of being hospitalised for a night or more, UK data suggests.

The Imperial College outbreak modelling team led by Prof Neil Ferguson analysed hospitalisations and vaccine records among all PCR-confirmed Covid cases in England between 1 and 14 December.

In a report published on Wednesday, the scientists found that any attendance at hospital was a fifth to a quarter lower with Omicron versus Delta cases, and between 40% and 45% lower when the visit resulted in being admitted for at least one day.

More details soon .