The South African Medical Research Council on Sunday have posted a report highlighting early Omicron cases from several hospitals. They found that patients infected with the Omicron strain tended to have the less severe disease—most of the hospitalized patients did not need supplemental oxygen, a few developed COVID pneumonia, and fewer still required intensive care. 

However, the South African report is based on limited data of only 166 patients, most of whom were admitted to hospitals for reasons unrelated to Covid-19 their infections were only found because those hospitals are testing all incoming patients for the coronavirus. Many did not have respiratory symptoms and stayed at the hospital for a relatively short time. Vaccination status was not reported for all of the patients.

On the other hand, World Health Organization (WHO) believes Existing vaccines should still protect people who contract the Omicron variant from severe Covid cases.