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A Comparison of Symptom Prevalence, Severity and Duration in the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Versus Delta Variants Among Vaccinated Individuals from the ZOE COVID Study

20 Pages Posted: 8 Feb 2022

See all articles by Cristina Menni

Cristina Menni

King's College London - Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology

Ana Valdes

University of Nottingham - Division of Rheumatology, Orthopaedics and Dermatology

Lorenzo Polidori

Zoe Global Limited

Michela Antonelli

King’s College London - School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences

Satya Penamakuri

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Ana Nogal

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Panayiotis Louca

King’s College London - Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology

Anna May

Zoe Global Limited

Jane C. Figueiredo

Cedars Sinai Medical Center - Cancer Research Center for Health Equity

Christina Hu

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Erika Molteni

King’s College London - School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences

Liane S. Canas

King’s College London - School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences

Marc F. Österdahl

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Marc Modat

King’s College London - School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences

Carole Sudre-Ferraris

University College London

Ben Fox

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Alexander Hammers

King’s College London - Division of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences

Jonathan Wolf

Zoe Global Limited

Joan Capdevila

Zoe Global Limited

Andrew T. Chan

Harvard University - Harvard Medical School

Sean David

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Claire J. Steves

King’s College London - Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology

Sebastien Ourselin

King’s College London - School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences

Tim D. Spector

King's College London - Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology; St. Thomas' Hospital, London

More...

Abstract

Background: The most recent dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern, Omicron, maybe less severe than the previously dominant variant, Delta. The aim of this study is to quantify the differences in their symptoms, severity, and duration among the vaccinated (two or three doses) population in the UK.

Methods: 62,002 UK participants from the ZOE COVID App testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 and reporting symptoms were matched 1:1 on age, sex, and vaccination dose across two periods: from June 1st, 2021, to November 27th, 2021, (Delta dominant, N=4,990) and from December 22nd, 2021, to January 17th, 2022 (Omicron dominant, N=4,990). We compared the prevalence of the 32 COVID-19 related symptoms, their duration, and the severity of the acute infection. 

Results: The symptoms of infection with Omicron were significantly different from those by the Delta variant. For Omicron, loss of smell was less prevalent (16.7% versus 52.7%, OR = 0.17 [95%CI: 0.16 - 0.19], p<0.001) and sore throat was more frequent (70.5% versus 60.8%, OR = 1.55 [95%CI: 1.43 -1.69], p<0.001). The duration of symptoms was significantly shorter (6.87 [95%CI: 6.58 - 7.16] days, versus 8.89 [95%CI: 8.61 - 9.17] days) and there was a lower rate of hospitalisation (1.9% versus 2.6%, OR = 0.75 [0.57 - 0.98], p = 0.03).

Interpretation: The prevalence of symptoms that characterise an Omicron infection differ from those of the Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant, with apparently less involvement of the lower respiratory tract, need for hospitalisation, and a shorter duration of the acute phase in vaccinated people.

Funding Information: ZOE, NIHR, CDRF, NIH, MRC.

Declaration of Interests: TDS, AMV, CJS and SO are consultants to Zoe Ltd (“Zoe”). JW, AM, LP, SP and JC are employees of Zoe Ltd. Other authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Ethics Approval Statement: Ethical approval for use of the app for research purposes in the UK was obtained from King’s College London Ethics Committee (review reference LRS 19/20-18210), and all users provided consent for non-commercial use.

Keywords: covid-19, variants of concern, Omicron, Delta, vaccination, SARS-CoV-2

Suggested Citation

Menni, Cristina and Valdes, Ana and Polidori, Lorenzo and Antonelli, Michela and Penamakuri, Satya and Nogal, Ana and Louca, Panayiotis and May, Anna and Figueiredo, Jane C. and Hu, Christina and Molteni, Erika and Canas, Liane S. and Österdahl, Marc F. and Modat, Marc and Sudre-Ferraris, Carole and Fox, Ben and Hammers, Alexander and Wolf, Jonathan and Capdevila, Joan and Chan, Andrew T. and David, Sean and Steves, Claire J. and Ourselin, Sebastien and Spector, Tim D., A Comparison of Symptom Prevalence, Severity and Duration in the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Versus Delta Variants Among Vaccinated Individuals from the ZOE COVID Study. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4022242 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4022242

Cristina Menni (Contact Author)

King's College London - Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology ( email )

Strand
London, England WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

Ana Valdes

University of Nottingham - Division of Rheumatology, Orthopaedics and Dermatology ( email )

Nottingham
United Kingdom

Lorenzo Polidori

Zoe Global Limited ( email )

Michela Antonelli

King’s College London - School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences ( email )

Strand
London, WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

Satya Penamakuri

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Ana Nogal

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Panayiotis Louca

King’s College London - Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology ( email )

London
United Kingdom

Anna May

Zoe Global Limited

Jane C. Figueiredo

Cedars Sinai Medical Center - Cancer Research Center for Health Equity ( email )

West Hollywood, CA
United States

Christina Hu

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Erika Molteni

King’s College London - School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences ( email )

Strand
London, WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

Liane S. Canas

King’s College London - School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences ( email )

Strand
London, WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

Marc F. Österdahl

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Marc Modat

King’s College London - School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences ( email )

Strand
London, WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

Carole Sudre-Ferraris

University College London

Ben Fox

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Alexander Hammers

King’s College London - Division of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences ( email )

London
United Kingdom

Jonathan Wolf

Zoe Global Limited ( email )

Joan Capdevila

Zoe Global Limited ( email )

Andrew T. Chan

Harvard University - Harvard Medical School

25 Shattuck St
Boston, MA 02115
United States

Sean David

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Claire J. Steves

King’s College London - Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology ( email )

United Kingdom

Sebastien Ourselin

King’s College London - School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences ( email )

Strand
London, WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

Tim D. Spector

King's College London - Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology

Strand
London, England WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

St. Thomas' Hospital, London ( email )

Lambeth Palace Road
London, SE1 7EH
United Kingdom