The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is less likely to cause long-term COVID than the Delta variant, according to new research. Analysis of data by researchers from King’s College London from the ZOE COVID Symptom study application is published today (June 18, 2022) in a letter to the medical journal The Lancet. The findings come from the first peer-reviewed study reporting long-term COVID risk and the Omicron variant. Long-term COVID is defined by the NICE guidelines as the onset of new or persistent symptoms four weeks or more after the onset of the disease. Symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, loss of concentration and joint pain. Symptoms can adversely affect daily activities and in some cases can be severely limiting. The researchers found that the chances of developing long-term COVID were between 20-50% lower during the Omicron period than during the Delta period, depending on age and time of vaccination. The study identified 56,003 adult cases in the UK that tested positive for the first time between 20 December 2021 and 9 March 2022, when Omicron was the dominant strain. The researchers compared these cases with 41,361 cases that were positive for the first time between June 1, 2021 and November 27, 2021, when the Delta variant was predominant. The analysis shows that 4.4% of Omicron cases were long-term COVIDs, compared to 10.8% of Delta cases. However, the absolute number of people who had long COVID-19s was actually higher during the Omicron period. This is due to the huge number of people infected with Omicron from December 2021 to February 2022. The UK Bureau of National Statistics estimates that the number of people with long-term COVID actually increased from 1.3 million in January 2022 to 2 million as of May 1, 2022. The lead author, Dr Claire Steves of King’s College London, said: “The Omicron variant seems much less likely to cause Long-COVID than previous variants, but again 1 in 23 people who get COVID-19 still have symptoms. for more than four weeks. “Given the number of people affected, it is important that we continue to support them at work, at home and in the NHS.” Reference: “Long-term COVID risk associated with delta versus micron variants of SARS-CoV-2” by Michela Antonelli, Joan Capdevila Pujol, Tim D Spector, Sebastien Ourselin and Claire J Steves, June 18, 2022, The Lancet.DOI: 10.1016 / S0140-6736 (22) 00941-2