Prognosis
Omicron Four Times More Transmissible Than Delta in New Study
- Japanese scientist analyzed genome data from South Africans
- Variant ‘transmits more and escapes immunity’: study
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The omicron variant of Covid-19 is 4.2 times more transmissible in its early stage than delta, according to a study by a Japanese scientist who advises the country’s health ministry, a finding likely to confirm fears about the new strain’s contagiousness.
Hiroshi Nishiura, a professor of health and environmental sciences at Kyoto University who specializes in mathematical modeling of infectious diseases, analyzed genome data available through November 26 in South Africans in Gauteng province.