Omicron Virus Variant Linked To Less Severe Outcomes In Children In New Study

The Omicron virus variant causes less severe disease in young children, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed health records of nearly 80,000 children under 5 years old who contracted the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19, for the first time, mostly when the Delta virus strain was dominant in the United States. Comparing the outcomes among the group who contracted COVID-19 recently, during the Omicron-driven wave, to those who got the illness during the Delta dominance, researchers found that the former were less likely to go to emergency departments, require hospitalization, be admitted to intensive care units, and require mechanical ventilation. “This is the first large-scale study in children under 5 years old to show that COVID-19 infections from Omicron were less severe than Delta, with significant reductions in severe outcomes ranging from 29 percent for ED visits to 71 percent for mechanical ventilation,” Rong Xu, a biomedical professor …  » Read full article