Long COVID risk Less during Omicron compared to Delta

A new research published in The Lancet has revealed that The Omicron variant is less likely to cause long COVID than the Delta variant. The findings are from the first peer-reviewed study to report on long COVID risk and the Omicron variant.

Researchers found the odds of experiencing long COVID were between 20-50% less during the Omicron period versus the Delta period, depending on age and time since vaccination.

The study identified 56,003 adults first testing positive between the period when the Omicron was the dominant strain. Researchers compared these cases to 41,361 cases first testing positive during the Delta variant.

The analysis shows 4.4% of Omicron cases were long COVID, compared to 10.8% of Delta cases. However, the absolute number of people experiencing long COVID was in fact higher in the Omicron period. This was because of the vast numbers of people infected with Omicron.

Reference: Prof Selina Kikkenborg Berg, PhD, Pernille Palm, PhD, Ulrikka Nygaard, PhD, Prof Henning Bundgaard, DMSc Maria Nivi Schmidt Petersen, MScSiri Rosenkilde, MSc

et al. Published:June 22, 2022DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(22)00154-7