Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday it was too soon to know whether the Omicron version of the coronavirus causes less severe illness than the delta version – despite reports that many cases have been mild so far.
Overall, most cases of COVID-19 are mild, and especially in younger patients. But still the virus can and does cause serious illness as it spreads among populations and has killed 5.2 million people globally and more than 779,000 in the United States alone, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said some South African physicians have reported that the patients he treated had mild illness. But they were treating young people, Fauci said.
“We believe it is too early to tell what the level of severity is,” Fauci told a White House COVID-19 briefing.
“Dr. Valensky and I specifically asked our South African colleagues what the most recent Zoom call we had was, and they agreed with us that it was too early to tell. They are hoping that this is going to happen across the board, at a lower level. Will give seriousness, but they just don’t know that,” he said.
In the meantime, vaccinations and boosters should protect people, Fauci said. Boosters, in particular, can bring antibody levels up to a point where there is a cushion of additional protection that can cover virus types as well.
“And this is most commonly manifested in protection from serious illness requiring hospitalization,” Fauci said.
“So when we say that although these mutations suggest a decrease in protection and a degree of immune evasion, a reasonable conclusion can be drawn from our experience with Delta[you]that you are at all against this particular variant. Won’t end security,” he said.
“And that’s why we don’t know what the lack of that degree of protection is going to be. But we do know that when you promote someone, you raise your level of security very high. And we are hoping, and I think good reason, to feel good that there will be some degree of protection. So, as we said, if you don’t get vaccinated, and if you’ve been vaccinated, promote it “
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