Research: Omicron protects the lungs and is therefore milder | Inland

Omicron mainly led to infections in the nose, throat and trachea in mice and hamsters, the newspaper writes. The damage to lungs was not too bad, while previous variants could still do a lot of damage there. This led to breathing problems, among other things.

Animals with omicron had less lung damage, less weight loss and better survival rates. Japanese and American researchers would have been particularly impressed by the positive results on golden hamsters. They could still become seriously ill from previous corona variants.

Other recent studies also suggest that omicron appears to be milder than the previous delta variant. For example, experts in Hong Kong looked at samples taken during operations in human airways. In 12 of those samples, omicron grew less rapidly than delta and other variants.

Spread

Such studies provide a better picture of the impact of the large-scale spread of omicron. That variant was discovered last month in South Africa. Omicron proved to be highly contagious and quickly spread around the world. Studies had already been published suggesting that the new variant leads to fewer hospital admissions, but experts commented on this.

Initially, many young people became infected and they are less likely to become seriously ill. Many infections have also been reported in people who had already built up immunity after a previous corona infection or through a vaccination. This group also generally runs less risk than, for example, unvaccinated elderly people.

It remains unclear, according to the newspaper, why the variant can spread so quickly. Many European countries have recently recorded record numbers of corona infections.

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