It's too soon to know if Omicron causes less severe illness, Fauci says

It's too soon to know if Omicron causes less severe illness, Fauci says It’s too soon to know if the Omicron variant of coronavirus causes less severe disease than the Delta variant – in spite of reports that many cases so far have been mild, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday. By <a href="/profiles/adrienne-vogt">Adrienne Vogt</a>, <a href="/profiles/ben-westcott">Ben Westcott</a>, Adam Renton, Sheena McKenzie and Ed Upright, CNN CNN

It’s too soon to know if the Omicron variant of coronavirus causes less severe disease than the Delta variant – in spite of reports that many cases so far have been mild, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday.

Most cases of Covid-19 overall are mild, and especially among younger patients. But nonetheless the virus can and does cause severe disease as it spreads among populations and has killed 5.2 million people globally and more than 779,000 in the US alone, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, noted that some South African physicians have reported the patients they treated had mild disease. But they were treating young people, Fauci said.

“Dr. Walensky and I specifically asked our South African colleagues that on the most recent Zoom call that we had, and they agreed with us that it's too early to tell. They're hoping that it is going to, across the board, give a lower level of severity, but they don't know that right now,” he added.

In the meantime, vaccination and boosters should protect people, Fauci said. Boosters, especially, can bring antibody levels up to where there is a cushion of extra protection that can cover even variants of the virus. ///