Hospital stay risk for Omicron is 40%-45% lower than Delta - UK study

FILE PHOTO: Medical personnel work at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for COVID-19 patients at the Emile Muller GHRMSA hospital in Mulhouse, France, December 16, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman

The risk of needing to stay in hospital for patients with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is 40% to 45% lower than for patients with the Delta variant, according to research by London's Imperial College published on Wednesday.

"Overall, we find evidence of a reduction in the risk of hospitalisation for Omicron relative to Delta infections, averaging over all cases in the study period," the researchers said of the study, which analysed data from PCR-test confirmed cases in England between Dec. 1 and Dec. 14.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Chris Reese)