Research RIVM
After an infection with omikron, 1 in 10 people still have complaints after 3 months. That is almost 2 times lower than after an infection with the delta variant. This is evident from new results from the LongCOVID study by the RIVM. The frequency of certain post-COVID complaints after the omikron or delta variant differs. However, the long-term complaints remain serious in both groups.
Many people infected with omikron
The omikron variant often makes people less sick than its predecessor delta. This variant more easily avoids the immunity that people already had due to previous infections or vaccination. Partly because of this, many people in the Netherlands got corona (again). The study looked at the complaints that occurred 3 months after an infection with omikron. Which complaints occurred how often? The researchers also looked at whether this was different after an infection with the delta variant.
More frequent fatigue, shortness of breath and brain fog after corona
People with an omikron infection more often suffered from fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog, memory problems and difficulty with busy environments than people without corona. However, people had these complaints even more often after the delta variant. Had people already had a previous corona infection? Then they suffered more from fatigue and shortness of breath than people who got corona for the first time due to the omikron variant.
Due to the greater contagiousness of omikron, more people have become ill from it than from the delta variant. As a result, the total number of people with long-term complaints after an infection with omikron may be higher despite the milder course. Post-COVID, or long-COVID, therefore remains a common and serious condition in the population.
Study design
In the questionnaire study, the results of the following groups of people were compared:
- 4.138 people who were infected with the omikron variant between January and May 2022.
- a control group of 4.398 people who did not get corona.
- 6.855 people who were infected with the delta variant between July and December 2021.
Three months after infection, participants completed a questionnaire. The questions were about 3 health complaints. There were also questions about the severity of fatigue, shortness of breath, cognitive problems and physical pain.
Complaints from the different groups compared
Because some long-term complaints also occur in the control group, we looked at which complaints occurred statistically significantly more often in people who had been infected with omikron. The researchers determined the percentage of people with long-term complaints due to COVID (i.e. people with Post-COVID/long-COVID) by looking at the difference in how often these complaints occurred between people after omikron and people without a (previous) infection.
Next step: how are things going a year after corona?
The LongCOVID study now looked at what complaints people experience 3 months after an infection with omikron. The next step is to look at the effects of corona after a year.
Source: https://www.rivm.nl/nieuws/minder-post-COVID-na-besmetting-met-omikron
