US scientist Fauci says Omicron variant 'almost certainly' not more severe than Delta
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci speaks to the media. File
US scientist Anthony Fauci said that the Covid-19 variant of Omicron is not worse than the previous strains and possibly milder.
Fauci said it would take weeks to judge the severity, but early indications suggested it was not worse than the Delta variant.
"It's almost certainly no worse than Delta," Fauci told reporters.
“Some suggest it might even be less serious,” he told media.
"I think it will take at least two more weeks in South Africa and then we get more infections in the rest of the world, it may take longer to see what the level of severity is.”
Experts have said that the new variant is clearly highly transmissible.
However, global epidemiological data also indicates reinfections are higher with Omicron.
