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'South African study shows COVID severity of Omicron BA.1, BA.4, BA.5 all similar'
What is new about BA.4 / BA.5, is not the severity, but the fact that an earlier Omicron BA.1 / BA.2 infection provides little, if any protection against reinfection with BA.4 / BA.5. The advice for vaccination with boosters against severe illness remains unchanged.
A recent article posted to the medRxiv* preprint server analyzed the illness severity of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron BA.4/BA.5 and prior viral waves in the Western Cape, South Africa.
The study results indicated that the analysis encompassed 190,836 patients from earlier four COVID-19 waves and 3,793 patients from the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/BA.5 wave. The authors discovered no variance in the risk of severe COVID-19 hospitalization or fatality between the SARS-CoV-2 BA.4/BA.5 timespan and the BA.1 timespan, both of which had improved outcomes than earlier COVID-19 waves, using the diagnosis timing as a proxy for being infected with various Omicron lineages in the Western Cape.
The authors claimed that the current investigation was one among the initial to compare the clinical severity of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/BA.5 infections with the earlier virus variants with a comparatively extensive adjustment for vaccination and comorbidities across all confirmed cases.
The study findings depicted that in the context of heightening COVID-19 immunity due to vaccination and past infection, both of which were significantly protective, especially with booster vaccinations, COVID-19 severity among diagnosed cases in the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/BA.5 and BA.1 eras was comparable. The team stated that ensuring that those at a high risk of developing severe SARS-CoV-2 outcomes receive at least three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine was still a relevant tactic for reducing the impact of future SARS-CoV-2 waves on the public health system.
The study findings depicted that in the context of heightening COVID-19 immunity due to vaccination and past infection, both of which were significantly protective, especially with booster vaccinations, COVID-19 severity among diagnosed cases in the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/BA.5 and BA.1 eras was comparable. The team stated that ensuring that those at a high risk of developing severe SARS-CoV-2 outcomes receive at least three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine was still a relevant tactic for reducing the impact of future SARS-CoV-2 waves on the public health system.
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220630/South-African-study-shows-COVID-severity-of-Omicron-BA1-BA4-BA5-all-similar.aspx