Drosten is delighted with the "groundbreaking study" on Omikron

One day before Christmas, the Omikron variant once again determines what is going on in the world. A new study elicits the German virologist Dr. Christian Drosten a little optimism.

Berlin – Germany is heading for the second Christmas party during the Corona * pandemic. As in the previous year, fear of a new mutant of the virus is omnipresent, but instead of the delta, it will be the omicron variant in 2021 that is causing unrest. Day after day, new information about the new variant is seeping through, which has already led to a massive increase in the number of infections in Great Britain. A recently published study on the course of the mutant’s disease now gives rise to faint hope, even with Germany’s top virologist Dr. Christian Drosten *.

Drosten to Omikron: “Somewhat weakened compared to Delta”

“Groundbreaking study by Neil Ferguson on Omikron,” wrote the virologist from the Berlin Chartié on Twitter * . “Unvaccinated people have about 24% less risk of Krh ingestion when infected with Omikron vs. Delta. Omikron is therefore somewhat weaker than Delta. Something. The difference in severe courses is still unclear. “

The attached study by Imperial College is one of many studies that are currently dealing with the new variant of the coronavirus. The mutant, which was detected for the first time in South Africa a little more than a month ago, is causing an increase in the number of infections around the world; in Great Britain alone, 100,000 new infections have now been reported for the first time within one day.

Omicron variant: Hospitalization rate lower than with Delta

The latest study, led by Professor Neil Ferguson, primarily focuses on the hospitalization rate compared to the Delta variant. For this purpose, all positive corona cases in England that were proven by means of a PCR test were examined from December 1st to December 14th and the course of the disease compared. A distinction was also made according to the length of hospital stays.

The results trigger Drosten’s optimism: The risk of hospitalization at Omikron is significantly lower compared to the Delta variant. There are also differences in how long a patient has to stay in the hospital.

In general, the number of hospital stays after an Omicron infection was 20 to 25 percent lower than with a Delta infection. In addition, the hospital stays were apparently shorter, because: The number of stays in the hospital that lasted one night or longer even fell by 40 to 45 percent.

However, the researchers also point out that this must be weighed against the significantly increased infection rate of Omikron.

Despite the positive results, the study also notes that the results must be weighed in relation to prior vaccination and the natural build-up of immunity as a result of prior infection. In general, a previous infection helps: As the investigation report shows, the hospitalization rate is reduced by 50 percent in the event of a re-infection, the risk of a longer stay (longer than a day) drops by up to 61 percent.

The differentiation of the hospitalization rate according to the vaccines administered also reveals astonishing things. The risk of hospitalization for people who have received two Biontech * vaccinations is similar to that of the Delta variant. However, anyone who has been vaccinated twice with Astrazeneca * has a fundamentally lower risk with the Omikron mutant than with Delta.

Corona: Study results give hope for 2022

The findings of the Ferguson study therefore give hope for a mild course of the disease, even if the data are not generally valid. “Due to the limited amount of data so far, we would like to point out that these observations should not be overestimated,” the researchers write about their study. A final certainty about the danger of the Omikron variant is still pending. The results so far are encouraging for the coming year. (to) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

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