The risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant is 5.4 times higher than with the Delta variant, suggests a study from Imperial College London reported by Reuters on Friday, December 17, also ensuring that no evidence that Omicron has a severity less than that of Delta has not been demonstrated.
Read also Omicron variant: what studies tell us about its true contagiousness
"
We found no evidence that Omicron has a different severity than Delta,
" for hospitalized or only symptomatic cases, the study said.
Also according to Imperial College, the protection that a Covid infection confers against the Omicron variant would only be 19%.
"
Omicron poses a serious threat to public health
"
The researchers also studied the risks of developing symptoms of Omicron despite vaccination with two or three doses: by comparing their results with the reported efficacy rate against the Delta variant, they concluded that the efficacy of two doses of Pfizer or AstraZeneca was only 0-20%, and 55-80% for the third dose.
Read alsoCovid-19: would it be useful to lower the vaccine booster period to three months?
"
This study once again demonstrates how Omicron evades the immunity conferred by infection or complete vaccination
," the researchers write in a statement.
Omicron poses a serious and imminent threat to public health.
"
The data for this study, which remains limited, is based on PCR tests of 333,000 people positive for Covid in the United Kingdom between November 29 and December 11, of which 122,062 positive for the Delta variant and 1,846 for the Omicron variant.