What we know about Omicron two weeks after it became a variant of concern

Two weeks after the World Health Organization designated Omicron a variant of concern, we know a lot more about its potential threat, with initial data suggesting it seems to be associated with less severe illness and fewer ICU admissions.

Over the last several weeks, health officials across the globe have been paying close attention to Omicron cases to answer important questions like how transmissible it is, how good it is at evading immunity from vaccines or past illness, and whether it causes more severe illness.

Their work has painted a more complete picture of how the variant spreads and how concerned we need to be.

On Friday, scientists in South Africa, where the variant was first detected, said they have seen no sign that Omicron is causing more severe illness, despite increased rates of hospitalizations.

Hospital data shows that COVID-19 admissions are rising sharply in more than half of the country's nine provinces, but deaths are not rising as dramatically and indicators such as the median length of hospital stay are reassuring.