South Africa has reported data on Covid cases driven by the Omicron variant that appears to give added impetus to claims the country is experiencing a lower severity of disease. “In South Africa, this is the epidemiology: Omicron is behaving in a way that is less severe,” said Prof Cheryl Cohen of the country’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), one of the authors of the study. Scientists, however, cautioned that the reasons less severe cases were being seen was not fully understood and that South Africa’s experience – with a young population – might not translate into how other countries experience Omicron. While evidence from South Africa about the virulence of the Omicron variant is being studied around the world – including in the UK – the NICD’s Michelle Groome warned that the South African data could not necessarily be extrapolated to other countries with different population profiles. The claims about virulence came as some South African experts were claiming a “sustained drop” of new Covid cases.

Source: The Guardian December 23, 2021 03:43 UTC