![Omicron should not be categorized as mild, WHO says](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2022/01/shot-Covid.jpg)
Omicron should not be categorized as mild, WHO says
Fox News
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, said Thursday that while the COVID-19 omicron variant seems to be less severe than delta, it should not be categorized as mild.
Mangala Narasimhan, the director of critical-care services at Northwell Health in New York, told the Wall Street Journal that only about 10% of patients are ending up in the ICU due to illness compared to up to 35% in previous surges. She told the paper that individuals who are vaccinated are—on average—hospitalized for four days while those who are unvaccinated stay for almost two weeks.
The WHO emergencies chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, said speculation that omicron might be the last variant of the outbreak was "wishful thinking" and cautioned: "There still is a lot of energy in this virus."