Omicron variant may impact lungs differently, studies say

Recent studies suggest that the omicron variant of the coronavirus may be less severe than delta because it impacts the lungs in different ways. 

In a recent White House COVID-19 response team briefing, White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci told reporters that a study from Hong Kong showed although the variant of concern replicates faster than delta in the bronchus, there’s “less efficient replication in the lung.”

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“Hamster models from the University of Tokyo show that omicron poorly infects and spreads in the lung, and is less pathogenic compared to delta in a hamster model. Belgian researchers in Syrian hamsters see the same thing,” he said. “NIH-funded studies that are ongoing right now in both mouse and hamsters confirm the lesser virulence in the animal model. And, studies here at the Vaccine Research Center at NIH, in the nonhuman primate model, are ongoing and will await results of that.”

Fauci said that the data is still preliminary in many respects, but that “all indications point to a lesser severity of omicron versus delta.”

“It is difficult to determine what degree of lessened severity is due to preexisting immunity or the intrinsically lower virulence of omicron, as suggested by the animal studies, or a combination of both. Increased transmissibility of omicron resulting in an extremely high volume of cases may override some of the impact of the lower disease severity,” he added. “And so, we should not become complacent since our hospital system could still be stressed in certain areas of the country.”

In research that has not yet been peer-reviewed, authors from…