SARS-CoV-2 waves in over 1,30,000 Covid-19 patients. They found that although the unadjusted rates of hospital admission and mortality appeared to be higher in previous waves compared to the Omicron period, the risks of hospitalisation and mortality were nearly identical. "After adjusting for confounders … we found that the risks of hospitalisation and mortality were nearly identical between periods.
Our analysis suggests that the intrinsic severity of the Omicron variant may be as severe as previous variants," the authors of the study noted.
The B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant has previously been reported as more transmissible, but less severe than other SARS-CoV-2 variants.