Omicron: Only 40 percent of Austrians are protected

Spread the love

Read Time:2 Minute, 28 Second

According to a model calculation by the Complexity Science Hub, only four out of ten people in Austria are protected from Omicron by vaccination or recovery. This is equivalent to the immune protection of the population at the end of June.

Evidence of mild symptoms
Omicron has significantly reduced the immune protection of the population. According to a model calculation published on Tuesday by the Complexity Science Hub, only four out of ten people in Austria are protected from Omicron disease by vaccination or recovery. By comparison, a good seven out of ten Austrians were recently protected against the delta virus. However, the scientists also see indications that Omicron could trigger less severe diseases.

Immune protection against Omicron lower than against Delta
In principle, the model calculators assume that immune protection against Omicron is significantly lower than against the Delta variant. According to the model, 72 percent of people in Austria were last protected against symptomatic infection by Delta (47.4 percent by vaccination, 24.2 percent by recovery). The situation with Omicron is quite different: Here, the model calculators assume that only just under 42 percent are protected against disease (30 percent by vaccination, 11.8 percent by recovery). While only 28 percent of the population was at risk of contracting the disease with the Delta variant, Omicron again threatens 58.2 percent. This is how low the population’s immune protection was last at the end of June.

Risk of severe disease probably lower with Omicron
However, initial research also suggests that the risk of severe disease from Omicron is lower than from the Delta variant. Virologist Dorothee Van Laer spoke on Tuesday of a 50 to 60 percent lower risk. She nevertheless appealed to the unvaccinated in the “Ö1-Mittagsjournal” not to rely on it, but to get the vaccination – especially since the Delta variant could possibly persist alongside Omicron and lead to new infections. She also cautioned that “we don’t have a lot of upside yet in the ICUs.” Intensive care patients dropped after the December lockdown (to 316 at last count, down from 650 in December, note), she said, but normal work is still far from possible on the wards.

Significantly fewer hospitalizations at Omicron.
Scientists from the Complexity Science Hub also point to studies showing that Omicron leads to fewer hospitalizations. According to these studies, 1.4 percent of patients with Delta had to be hospitalized, but only about 0.5 percent with Omicron. How many Omicron patients actually end up in hospital depends, however, on whether the wave of infection is slowed down and which age groups it affects. In addition, complexity researcher Peter Klimek warns that the persistently high number of corona sufferers is endangering the care of other patients. He emphasizes “that normal care has been down for weeks and months.” In his view, this may also have been a cause of the excess mortality recently recorded despite low corona death rates.