Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Omicron less likely to cause long COVID than previous variants: UK study

Long COVID, which includes prolonged symptoms ranging from fatigue to ‘brain fog’, can be debilitating and continue for weeks or months.

Omicron less likely to cause long COVID than previous variants: UK study

The Omicron variant of coronavirus is less likely to cause long COVID than previous variants, according to the first peer-reviewed study of its kind from the United Kingdom.

Researchers at King's College London, using data from the ZOE COVID Symptom study app, found the odds of developing long COVID after infection were 20% to 50% lower during the Omicron wave in the UK compared to Delta. The figure varied depending on the patient's age and the timing of their last vaccination.

Long COVID, which includes prolonged symptoms ranging from fatigue to 'brain fog', can be debilitating and continue for weeks or months. It is increasingly being recognised as a public health problem, and researchers have been racing to find out if Omicron presents as big a risk of long COVID as previously dominant variants.

The study from King's is believed to be the first academic research to show Omicron does not present as great a risk of long COVID, but that does not mean long COVID patient numbers are dropping, the team said.

While the risk of long COVID was lower during Omicron, more people were infected, so the absolute number now suffering is higher.

"It's good news, but please don't decommission any of your long COVID services," lead researcher Dr Claire Steves told Reuters, appealing to health-service providers.

The UK's Office for National Statistics said in May that 438,000 people in the country have long COVID after Omicron infection, representing 24% of all long COVID patients.

It also said the risk of lingering symptoms after Omicron was lower than with Delta, but only for double-vaccinated people. It found no statistical difference for those who were triple vaccinated.

In the King's research, 4.5% of the 56,003 people studied during Omicron's peak, December 2021-March 2022, reported long COVID. That compared to 10.8% of 41,361 people during the Delta wave, June-November 2021. It did not compare vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.

While the study – published in The Lancet journal on Thursday – compared Delta and Omicron, Dr Steves said previous work had showed no substantial difference in long COVID risk between other variants.

More work was needed to establish why Omicron may have a lower long COVID risk, the team added.

(Reuters)

More For You

Milton-Keynes

Eyewitnesses described hearing shouting before the shooting

iStock

Man shot dead by police outside Milton Keynes railway station

A MAN was shot dead by police outside Milton Keynes Central station after reports that he was carrying a firearm.

Thames Valley Police (TVP) said officers were called to the station at 12:55, where they challenged a suspect carrying a knife. The man moved towards officers before police fired at him.

Keep ReadingShow less
EXCLUSIVE: Eastern Eye wins press freedoms to help judges

SCRUTINY: The tribunal’s favourable verdict is an important win for accountability, say current and retired Asian judges (Pic credit: Getty Images/Leon Neal)

EXCLUSIVE: Eastern Eye wins press freedoms to help judges

A tribunal has ordered the body which appoints judges in England and Wales to disclose records it refused to give to Eastern Eye.

The decision is a major victory for press freedoms because it forces the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) to become more open and transparent.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sunita-Williams-Reuters

Sunita Williams was part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission and had been stranded in space for over nine months. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters)

India looks amazing from space, says Sunita Williams

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams described India as "amazing" from space and expressed her intention to visit her "father's home country" to share her experiences on space exploration.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, she responded to a question about how India appeared from space and the possibility of collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Keep ReadingShow less
british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less