South African doctors see signs omicron is milder than delta

By ANDREW MELDRUM
Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Health experts still don’t know if the omicron variant is causing milder COVID-19, but more indicators are emerging from South Africa. Doctors there say the patients they are seeing now aren’t as ill as the ones who were infected with the delta variant. Recent data shows far fewer hospitalizations and deaths compared to previous waves. But it has only been two weeks since omicron first was reported in Africa, and scientists caution it will take many more weeks to know whether their early observations hold up. While delta is still the dominant strain worldwide, omicron is popping up in dozens of countries and has become dominant in South Africa.