Long COVID risk lower during Omicron – U.K. study
Wachiwit/iStock via Getty Images

The odds of developing long COVID were between 20-50% lower during the Omicron wave of the pandemic than in the Delta period, according to the first of its kind study published in a peer-reviewed journal. The results varied depending on age and time since vaccination.
Long COVID is characterized by hundreds of different symptoms such as fatigue, chest pain, and brain fog lasting more than three months.
The researchers from Kingâs College London have based their study on data from the ZOE COVID Symptom study app.
According to its findings published in the medical journal The Lancet, 4.4% of the 56,003 adults who first tested positive for COVID during the Omicron's peak, December 2021-March 2022, reported long COVID.
That compared to 10.8% of 41,361 cases that were studied between June 2021 â November 2021, when Delta was dominant.
While the study focused on the long COVID risk of Omicron and Delta variants, the lead author of the study Dr. Claire Steves said previous work indicated no significant difference in long COVID risk among other variants.
âThe Omicron variant appears substantially less likely to cause Long-COVID than previous variants but still 1 in 23 people who catch COVID-19 go on to have symptoms for more than four weeks,â Dr. Steves added, highlighting the need to continue support for the affected patients.
In May, a large study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated one in five COVID-19 survivors aged 18 â 64 years in the U.S. might have developed at least one condition linked to long COVID.
Vaccine makers Moderna (MRNA) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), as well as developers of COVID-19 antibody drugs, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Vir Biotechnology (VIR) have shown interest in addressing the health impact of long COVID with their vaccines and therapeutics.