SARS-CoV-2 omicron infections are more likely to result in death than the flu inside hospitals, a study in Switzerland found.
“Because the omicron variant appears to be associated with a less severe outcome, it is important to understand whether in-hospital outcomes of this COVID-19 variant have become comparable with other frequent viral airway infections, like seasonal influenza,” researchers wrote.
Researchers studied more than 5,000 patients who were hospitalized and placed in the intensive care unit with either omicron or the flu and compared 30-day outcomes, which resulted in a mortality rate that is 1.5 times higher for omicron.
The findings, they said, are “crucial to assess the current burden of disease of community-acquired SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant in hospitalized patients to tailor appropriate public health policies.”
