Omicron unlikely to push health system to limits

(Image: Pixabay CC0) - Seemingly less hazardous than Delta, but significantly more infectious: The spread of the omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus raises the question of whether it can push the healthcare system to its breaking point. researchers have worked with partners to model scenarios for both Switzerland and Germany - and conclude that this is an unlikely course of events. Nevertheless, some risks remain. In order to assess the risk posed by SARS-CoV-2, the capacities of the health care system are a decisive criterion: Will hospitals be able to admit and treat a sufficient number of affected people? Both in ordinary wards and intensive care units (ICU)- In the UK and in other countries, the decoupling of case numbers and hospital admissions seems to give reason for optimism - but is this also true for Switzerland or Germany, where the proportion of vaccinated or recovered people is lower? To answer this question, researchers from Empa's Multiscale Studies in Building Physics lab worked with experts from the Institute of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiochemistry at the Philipps University in Marburg and the Canton of Graubünden to develop elaborate scenarios for the period from 17 January to the end of March. The strength of this model is that many variables based on current data had been incorporated: age, vaccination and booster status, reproductive number.