According to experts from Edinburgh and Strathclyde University, "early national data suggests that Omicron is associated with a two-thirds reduction in the risk of Covid-19 hospitalisation when compared to Delta". The study added that a third booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine offers substantial additional protection against the risk of symptomatic Covid-19 from Omicron infection.  

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, reacting to the study on Twitter, said that the early data was encouraging, but doubled down on her warning that the Omicron variant still poses a risk to the economy and health care system if enough people catch it all at once. 

Market Reaction

Markets were already in a fairly risk-on mood, but the latest study will help to calm some fears about hospitals in developed countries being overwhelmed. The Scottish study comes on the back of a recent South African study which showed the hospitalisation risk with Omicron there to be 80% less versus infection by Delta.