Reduction in the Infection Fatality Rate of Omicron (B.1.1.529) Variant Compared to Previous Variants in South Africa

Omicron variant has caused global concern. In this work, we estimate the transmissibility and infection fatality rate of Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant based on data in South Africa. We found that the peak transmissibility of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant is more than 3-fold of that of the previous variant while the infection fatality rate is substantially decreased. The reduction in the infection fatality rate is 87.8% with an 95% confidence interval (79.3% , 92.8%).

Note: Funding statement: The work described in this paper was partially supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (HKU C7123-20G). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Keywords: COVID-19; Omicron; Infection fatality rate

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Liu, Yuan and Yu, Yangyang and Zhao, Yanji and He, Daihai, Reduction in the Infection Fatality Rate of Omicron (B.1.1.529) Variant Compared to Previous Variants in South Africa (January 16, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4010080 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4010080