Omicron’s Rt is nearly 2.5 times as high as that of Delta’s.

 南ア新規感染、２週間で２０倍に急増…７割以上が「オミクロン株」か

2021/12/04 11:0

Omicron-stricken South Africa may be glimpse into the future

ANDREW MELDRUM

, 

Associated Press

Dec. 3, 2021

It’s not clear if the variant causes more serious illness or can evade the protection of vaccines. Phaahla noted that only a small number of people who have been vaccinated have gotten sick, mostly with mild cases, while the vast majority of those who have been hospitalized were not vaccinated.

While the study did not examine the protection offered by vaccination, von Gottberg said: “We believe that vaccines will still, however, protect against severe disease.”

Omicron Variant Spreading Twice as Quickly as Delta in South Africa

In a mathematical analysis, they estimated the variant’s Rt — a measure of how quickly a virus spreads — and compared it with the metric for Delta. They found that Omicron’s Rt is nearly 2.5 times as high as that of Delta’s.

“I suspect, and I’m hopeful, that these aren’t all going to result in severe disease,” she said. “Maybe there are lots of infections, but they may be milder.”