Data emerging from studies in South Africa, the US and the UK, has shown that Omicron causes mild illness, as well as causes lower hospitalisation rates. However, it is still too early to affirm how severe omicronis. "Long Covid can happen no matter what virus variant occurs. There's no evidence that there's any difference between Delta or Beta or now Omicron," Fauci was quoted as saying in an interview with Spectrum News.
"We should always be aware that when people get a symptomatic infection - anywhere from 10 to up to 30 plus percent of people will go on to have persistence of symptoms," he added, noting that even mild cases are included in that possibility. Long-term symptoms usually include shortness of breath, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, insomnia, and brain fog.
Fauci also noted that the words used to define vaccination status could soon change. He said the label will likely evolve from "fully vaccinated" to "up to date," to identify when someone has been boosted, which Fauci called critical for protection against the virus, the report said. "People should put aside this concern about a definition and say 'If I want to be optimally protected, I should get boosted'," he said.