Omicron spreads faster than other variants but is not so severe: Reports

A study published in some section of the media says that observation of doctors in South Africa says that Omicron spreads faster and can infect more people in a given span of time as compared to the original virus or its other variants.

The study was conducted by the University of Hong Kong and it raises a lot of hope among countries like the United Kingdom where Omicron is spreading very fast. The UK is the only country, as of now, which has reported a death due to Omicron.

The study suggests that the rate of infection of the Omicron is 70 times more than all other previous variants. Before Omicron, the Delta variant, which originated from India, was supposed to be the most infectious.

The report also says that it is less severe than the previous variants. This means that after infection, there is less chance that the person will be hospitalized.

Led by Michael Chan Chi-wai, the team of researchers have found that its rate of replication inside the human lungs is quite slow and that’s the reason it is not able to cause severe lung disease. If a variant cannot replicate and spread faster in the human body, the immune system can function better and overpower it easily.

Reports coming out from other countries are in line with the study as very few cases are reported to have become severe. Even in India, 70 cases of Omicron have been reported from various parts of the country but there is no report of severity or hospitalization.