Covid-19: Symptomatic infection with omicron variant is milder and shorter than with delta, study reports

Abstract

Vaccinated people infected with the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 had symptoms for 6.87 days on average, compared with 8.89 days with the delta variant, data from the ZOE app have shown.1 Among those who had received two vaccine doses plus a booster the duration of symptoms was shorter still, at 4.4 days with omicron and 7.7 days with delta. The shorter presentations of symptoms suggest a shorter period of infectiousness with omicron, which could affect workplace health policies and public health guidance, said the study authors from King’s College, London. However, this will need to be confirmed by viral load studies. The large community cohort study, published in the Lancet ,1 also found that patients infected with the omicron variant reported a loss of smell less frequently and were more likely to have a sore throat and a hoarse voice than those infected with the delta variant. The UK’s official list of covid-19 symptoms has now been expanded to include …