As COVID 19 Cases Rise, Ontario Study Suggests Omicron Is Less Severe

As COVID 19 Cases Rise, Ontario Study Suggests Omicron Is Less Severe
A traveler walks past a "Mandatory COVID-19 Testing" sign at Pearson International Airport during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, December 18, 2021. Reuters/Carlo Allegri
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The Omicron variant continued to cause record-breaking COVID-19 case numbers in several provinces Thursday, but a new study from Ontario suggested those infected with the variant are significantly less likely to face hospitalization or death compared to those with Delta.

In the study, Public Health Ontario compared Omicron cases with symptoms that emerged between Nov. 22 and Dec. 17 with Delta cases and found that, after adjusting for vaccination status and region, the risk of hospitalization or death was 54 percent lower with Omicron.