The Clinical Severity of COVID-19 Variants of Concern: Retrospective Population-Based Analysis.
Sean P HarriganHéctor Alexander Velásquez GarcíaYounathan AbdiaJames WiltonNatalie A PrystajeckyJohn TysonChris FjellLinda M N HoangJeffrey C KwongSharmistha MishraLinwei WangDilian ToroNaveed Zafar JanjuaHind SbihiPublished in: JMIR public health and surveillance (2024)
Our study provides robust severity estimates for all VOCs during the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia, Canada. Relative to Alpha, we found Delta to be the most severe, followed by Gamma and Omicron. This study highlights the importance of targeted testing and sequencing to ensure timely detection and accurate estimation of severity in emerging variants. It further sheds light on the importance of vaccination coverage and SDOHs in the context of pandemic preparedness to support the prioritization of allocation for resource-constrained or minoritized groups.