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Three separate teams of scientists on two continents have found that Omicron infections more often result in mild illness than earlier variants of the coronavirus, offering hope that the current surge may not be quite as catastrophic as feared despite skyrocketing caseloads. The researchers examined Omicron’s course through populations in South Africa, Scotland and England. The results in each setting, while still preliminary, all suggested that the variant was less likely to send people in hospitals. (Zimmer and Anthes, 12/22)

On Tuesday, a new study from South Africa showed that people infected with omicron are 80% less likely to be admitted to hospital than if they contract other strains. ... Studies from Scotland and England appear to back up the South Africa findings. Early Scottish data, published Wednesday and not peer reviewed, suggests that omicron is two-thirds less likely to result in hospitalization versus delta. The study also suggests a third or booster dose of vaccination offers substantial additional protection against symptomatic Covid for omicron. Separate figures from England, also published Wednesday, show that the risk of needing to stay in hospital for patients with the new variant is 40% to 45% lower than in those with delta. This data was also not peer reviewed. (Browne, 12/23)

The highly contagious new strain could still overwhelm health-care systems as infections soar globally. ... “It’s important that we don’t get ahead of ourselves,” said Jim McMenamin, national Covid-19 incident director for Public Health Scotland, which conducted the Scottish study with the University of Edinburgh and the University of Strathclyde. “A smaller proportion of a greater number of cases requiring treatment might still mean a substantial number of people that may experience severe Covid.” (Kresge, 12/22)

The omicron Covid-19 variant has quickly overtaken delta as the dominant strain of the virus across the U.S., accounting for 90% of the cases in some parts of the country, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday. The variant makes up more than 73% of the cases in the United States as of Saturday, according to the latest data released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Last week, U.S. health officials said omicron accounted for 2.9% of all cases sequenced through Dec. 11, but later revised that number up to 12.6%. (Campos, 12/22)

The United States logged a seven-day average coronavirus case count of 168,981 on Wednesday, amid a nationwide spike driven partly by the omicron variant, Washington Post figures show, surpassing a summer peak of just over 165,000 infections on Sept. 1.The tally comes as preliminary data suggests omicron is significantly more contagious than previous versions of the coronavirus. (Jeong and Francis, 12/23)

As the omicron variant continues to spread throughout the world, new modeling data shows the latest strain may cause millions more new infections per day in the U.S. but fewer hospitalizations and deaths compared to the delta variant. Researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine revised its COVID-19 modeling to include updated information about the omicron variant. They found the U.S. may see a total of about 140 million new infections from Jan. 1 to March 1, 2022, peaking in late-January at about 2.8 million new daily infections. (Rodriguez, 12/22)

California’s 2 million health care workers will have to get a COVID booster shot by Feb. 1, and those who have yet to be boosted will have to undergo testing twice a week until they do, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. Newsom also announced a state schools testing program that will provide one to two rapid tests for every K-12 student in public schools as they return to classrooms from winter break. The state will also expand operating hours at state-run testing centers that have reached capacity. (Ho, 12/22)

On a day when Massachusetts reported a single-day record for new COVID-19 cases, two teams of British researchers offered a glimmer of hope that the fast-moving Omicron variant may cause less severe illness than earlier variants, and US regulators authorized the first pill to treat the coronavirus. Also on Wednesday, researchers in South Africa reported that cases there dropped by 20 percent in the past week, suggesting the country’s Omicron-fueled surge of infections may have peaked after about a month. Still, federal, state, and local officials continue to urge caution ahead of Christmas and are pleading with unvaccinated individuals to get their shots and vaccinated people to get a booster. (Stoico and McDonald, 12/22)