Prognosis
South African Scientists Sound Caution on Omicron Case Severity
- Mostly young people initially infected with new virus strain
- Vaccines, prior infection help protect against severe illness
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Leading South African scientists warned it is still too early to determine that the omicron variant will only cause mild illness.
The true impact of the coronavirus strain is currently hard to determine because it has so far mostly affected young people, who are better able to fight off the pathogen, and people tend to get sicker after carrying the virus for some time, the scientists said in a presentation to lawmakers on Wednesday.