Omicron likely to be ‘not as severe’ as Delta variant: Anthony Fauci

Omicron variant of COVID-19 is almost certainly “not as severe as its predecessor Delta”, which continues to remain the dominant strain of the deadly virus across the globe, Joe Biden’s top pandemic advisor Dr Anthony Fauci said.

He added that the Omicron variant may also be less severe than Delta while citing a comparison between the number of cases in South Africa — where the variant was first detected — and the hospitalisation rates.

Fauci told AFP, “There is some suggestion that it might even be less severe because when you look at some of the cohorts that are being followed in South Africa, the ratio between the number of infections and the number of hospitalisations seems to be less than with Delta.”

However, he further warned that the new variant, which has now been detected in dozens of countries over continents, is “clearly highly transmissible“, very likely more so than Delta.

Fauci added that lab experiments that were being conducted to test the efficiency of the currently available vaccines in the United States against Omicron are expected to produce results in the “next few days to a week”, according to reports from AFP.

The key healthcare advisor further added that the White House is considering removing certain travel restrictions that were put in place after cases of the Omicron variant started popping up around the globe. These include travel blocks against non-citizens from several African countries.

“Hopefully we will be able to lift that ban in a quite reasonable period of time,” Fauci said. “We all feel very badly about the hardship that has been put on not only on South Africa but the other African countries.”

The Omicron variant has now been found in one-third of US states so far, after the first case was found earlier this month in California.