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The proportion of the corona variant Omikron is also increasing rapidly in Germany. The variant spreads much faster than the Delta variant. So is Omicron more dangerous than other mutants? Omikron's success seems to be primarily due to its ability to bypass the immune protection of vaccinated and recovered people. The antibodies that have arisen as a result of a previous infection or vaccination are less able to target omicron. Vaccination still makes sense: although the protection is somewhat lower, three vaccinations in particular still provide reliable protection against a symptomatic disease and reduce the likelihood of becoming infected and passing the virus on to others.
An omicron infection tends to lead to milder courses than infection with other variants.
According to initial studies, this could be because the lungs are less affected and the virus multiplies more in the upper respiratory tract.
For the individual, an infection with omicron carries a lower risk of becoming seriously ill.
However, the rapid spread can still be a major problem for society: if a large number of people become infected at the same time, the mass of cases can overload hospitals.
In addition, immense staff shortages endanger other critical infrastructure such as the fire brigade or police.
