New research has found that people who caught the Omicron coronavirus variant are less likely to suffer from long Covid than those who caught the Delta strain.
The long-term effects of coronavirus experienced by some have been known to last weeks or even months after contracting the virus. Analysis carried out at King’s College London used data from the Zoe Covid Symptom study to determine the odds of experiencing long Covid during the Omicron wave compared to the Delta period.
The research found that the chance of long Covid after contracting the Omicron strain was between 20% and 50% lower than with the Delta variant, with the result varying depending on the patient’s age and the length of time since their vaccination.
READ MORE: People who contract Covid Omicron variant can be infected with same strain again
The number of people who suffered from long Covid was higher overall during the Omicron strain due to the vast amount of the population who became infected with the variant between December 2021 and February 2022. However, analysis showed that 4.4% of Omicron cases led to long Covid, in comparison with 10.% of Delta cases.
Published in a letter to The Lancet, the study looked at 56,003 adults in the UK who tested positive when Omicron was the dominant strain between 20 December last year and 9 March this year. These were compared to the cases of 41,361 people who tested positive between 1 June and 27 November last year when Delta was the main variant.
Lead author Dr Claire Steves, from King’s College London, said: “The Omicron variant appears substantially less likely to cause long Covid than previous variants, but still one in 23 people who catch Covid-19 go on to have symptoms for more than four weeks. Given the numbers of people affected it’s important that we continue to support them at work, at home and within the NHS.”
The common symptoms of long Covid can include extreme tiredness, shortness of breath, chest pain and dizziness. According to the NHS the chances of having long-term symptoms don’t appear to be linked to how ill a person is when they are first infected with the virus, noting that even those with mild symptoms can still go on to experience long-term issues.
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