The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is much less likely than Delta to result in long Covid in people who have had two doses of vaccine, new figures suggest. Data shows the odds of double-vaccinated adults infected with the Omicron BA.1 strain reporting having long Covid four to eight weeks later were 50% lower than those who had Delta.
The experimental statistics, published on Friday, also suggest there is no evidence of a difference in risk of long Covid between first infections with Delta compared to the Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants among triple-vaccinated adults. But the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the odds of triple-jabbed adults reporting long Covid symptoms four to eight weeks after first being infected were 22% higher with the Omicron BA.2 variant compared to the BA.1 strain.
There was, however, no statistical evidence of a difference in the likelihood of activity-limiting long Covid between the Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants, it added.
