The Omicron variant is less likely to result in severe illness and ICU admissions, the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) said in an assessment/analysis that was published today.

The ECDC points out that “In comparison with earlier circulating variants, Omicron infections appear less likely to lead to a severe clinical outcome that requires hospitalisation or ICU admission. Hence, although the current overall 14-day notification rate in the EU/EEA is 2 621 cases per 100 000 population, which is four times higher than the highest peak observed during the pandemic to date, hospitalisation rates and mortality are below the levels observed in earlier pandemic waves.”

Although #Omicron is able to escape immunity more than other #COVID19 variants, a booster dose still protects us well against severe disease, hospitalisation and deaths!

Read more on what we can do to fight through the pandemic together here: https://t.co/s7bvkpEO1o pic.twitter.com/1yP8aApM4a

— ECDC (@ECDC_EU) January 27, 2022

The ECDC continues: “While we expect to be moving towards a more sustainable situation with COVID-19 circulating at manageable levels, we currently remain in a public health emergency pandemic situation, and it is important to note that even in a post-pandemic phase SARS-CoV-2 could still periodically cause high levels of strain on healthcare systems and lead to large outbreaks. Thus, moving forward, multi-layered surveillance, preparedness, and response strategies for addressing COVID-19 will be essential.”

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