South Africa: previous infections may explain Omicron hospitalisation rate

High levels of previous infection in province at centre of outbreak may be behind relatively low level of severe disease, expert says

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High levels of previous exposure to three previous waves of coronavirus infection in South Africa may explain the relatively low levels of hospitalisation and severe disease in the current outbreak of the Omicron variant, rather than the variant itself being less virulent.

The suggestion was made by the vaccine expert Shabir Madhi of the University of the Witwatersrand, who has led vaccine trials in the country. He warned that South Africa's experience of Omicron might not be a reliable indicator for how the Omicron outbreak unfolds in other countries.