South African CDC Told BBC Radio

[WHITT]

that once admitted to the hospital, patient's severity of illness from Omicron no different than Delta, requiring just as much oxygen and in every other way.

[progree]

1. I was surprised to read that in yesterday's "Covid in Minnesota" report

https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2021/12/23/covid-in-minnesota-52-deaths-3378-new-cases-reported-ahead-of-christmas-holiday/

Preliminary studies from the United Kingdom and South Africa suggest that people infected with Omicron have a lower risk of severe illness and hospitalization than those infected with Delta. The studies show that those diagnosed with Omicron were 80% less likely to be hospitalized than those with other variants, but once in the hospital, the South African study found patients were just as likely to develop severe disease no matter which variant they were diagnosed with.

emphasis added by Progree

Because I had seen so many reports from South Africa about how so few Omicron Covid patients needed supplemental oxygen or ICU, compared to Covid patients earlier in the delta and preceding eras.

But anyway, good to hear the "80% less likely to be hospitalized".

[WHITT]

2. Except

But anyway, good to hear the "80% less likely to be hospitalized".

That's as a result of particular circumstances, which unfortunately doesn't look like will apply here:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216175874#post11

Which reinforces my OP in that thread as well.

[Demsrule86]

3. But from what I read...there fewer severe cases even among the unvaccinated.

[WHITT]

4. Yes

in South Africa and the UK, which have unique circumstances the U.S. does not.

[lark]

10. Yes, our population is much older, sicker and fatter than theirs, so risk factors much higher here.

Why isn't this being mentioned more often FFS.

[Ace Rothstein]

13. Their population is also very immuno-compromised and has a low vaccination rate.

They also aren't very far behind us when it comes to obesity.

[uponit7771]

5. Except, "..."80% less likely to be hospitalized"...." They're also less vaccinated than US but

... had younger median population.

[WHITT]

6. Indeed

But that's in South Africa and the UK, which have unique circumstances that the U.S. does not, and the South African CDC states should NOT be extrapolated.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. There is one other "unique circumstance" that differentiates S.A. from the U.S. & Europe

and that is that S.A.'s predominate pre-Delta variant was Beta, whereas the U.S. & Europe had Alpha as the predominate pre-Delta variant.

[Tomconroy]

8. Just in:

Link to tweet

?s=20

[IronLionZion]

9. Is there more context?

I would think it's unvaccinated and immune compromised people who need hospitalization to begin with.

[Tomconroy]

11. Dr. Jha retweeted this a little while ago:

Link to tweet

?s=20

It's a long thread but worth reading all the way through.

[Tomconroy]

12. I guess this is the actual SA preprint. They seem to be comparing

SGTF cases in the hospital at the same time as non SGTF cases of which I assume there had to have been few. And then are they saying those in hospital during Omicron are less severe than during the summer time delta wave? I can't really tell.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.21.21268116v1