Vaccinated patients less likely to need critical care during Omicron
surge
New study compares hospitalizations during Omicron and Delta variant
surges

Date:
February 11, 2022
Source:
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Summary:
A new study of COVID-19 patients who had the Omicron variant of the
disease shows that vaccinated adults had less severe illness than
unvaccinated adults and were less likely to land in intensive care.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The highly contagious omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 became the dominant
strain in the United States in mid-December 2021, coinciding with a rise
in hospitalizations of patients with COVID-19. Among those admitted during
the omicron surge, vaccinated adults had less severe illness compared
with unvaccinated adults and were less likely to land in intensive care, according to a new study by Cedars-Sinai and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).


========================================================================== "Overall, the omicron-period group had a lower likelihood of being
admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and were also less likely to
require invasive mechanical ventilation compared with the delta-period
group," said Matthew Modes, MD, a pulmonologist at Cedars-Sinai and
co-first author of the paper.

Investigators also found that during the omicron period fewer patients
died while hospitalized (4.0%), compared with those admitted when the
delta variant was dominant (8.3%).

In a single-hospital study published in the CDC'sMorbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report, scientists looked at the characteristics of 339 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles,
from July to September of 2021, when the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2
was dominant. They compared that group with 737 patients admitted with
COVID-19 during December 2021-January 2022, when the omicron variant
was most prevalent.

Clinical information was gathered from the electronic health records of
the patients in the study and then analyzed by a team of investigators
led by Sharon Isonaka, MD, MS, chief value officer and vice president
for Clinical Efficiency and Value at Cedars-Sinai.

The analysis revealed that a greater portion of the patients hospitalized during omicron were vaccinated as compared to patients hospitalized
during the summer of 2021 when the delta variant predominated, likely reflecting the higher percentage of the populations that were vaccinated
during omicron.

"In addition to the protection that vaccination offered people admitted
to the hospital when omicron dominated, we saw that the addition of
a booster dose appeared to be particularly important in reducing the
severity of illness, especially among older adults," said Peter Chen,
MD, senior author of the study and director of Pulmonary and Critical
Care Medicine at Cedars-Sinai.

"Unvaccinated patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the omicron
variant dominance still had a higher chance of being admitted with serious complications and appeared to be at higher risk for the development
of respiratory failure, compared with vaccinated patients," said Chen,
who holds the Medallion Chair in Molecular Medicine and is a professor
of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Large numbers of hospitalizations during the pandemic have strained
health systems throughout the country. Vaccination, including a booster
dose for those who are fully vaccinated, remains critical for mitigating
the risk of severe illness associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

"A clear pattern emerges if you take just the omicron-period patients
and compare their vaccination status against the percentage of them who
ended up in the ICU. The more vaccinated someone is-from unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, fully vaccinated without a booster dose to fully vaccinated with a booster dose?the better the outcome for the patient,"
said Michael Melgar, MD, a co-first author of the study and a medical
officer with the CDC.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Cedars-Sinai_Medical_Center. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Matthew E Modes, Michael P. Directo, Michael Melgar, Lily
R. Johnson,
Haoshu Yang, Priya Chaudhary, Susan Bartolini, Norling Kho, Paul W.

Noble, Sharon Isonaka, Peter Chen. Clinical Characteristics and
Outcomes Among Adults Hospitalized with Laboratory-Confirmed
SARS-CoV-2 Infection During Periods of B.1.617.2 (Delta)
and B.1.1.529 (Omicron) Variant Predominance -- One Hospital,
California, July 15-September 23, 2. MMWR.

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2022; 71 (6): 217 DOI:
10.15585/ mmwr.mm7106e2 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220211080626.htm

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