Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 May 31;29(3):taac037.
doi: 10.1093/jtm/taac037.

The effective reproductive number of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is several times relative to Delta

Affiliations

The effective reproductive number of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is several times relative to Delta

Ying Liu et al. J Travel Med. .

Abstract

Our review found the effective reproduction number and basic reproduction number of the Omicron variant elicited 3.8 and 2.5 times higher transmissibility than the Delta variant, respectively. The Omicron variant has an average basic and effective reproduction number of 8.2 and 3.6.

Keywords: B.1.1.529; Delta variant; Omicron variant; R0; Re; SARS-CoV-2; effective reproduction number; the basic reproduction number; variants of concern.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. World Health Organization . COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update. 25 February 2021. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/2... [Accessed 19 March 2022, date last accessed].
    1. Liu Y, Rocklöv J. The reproductive number of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is far higher compared to the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 virus. J Travel Med 2021; 28:taab124. 10.1093/jtm/taab124. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Liu Y, Gayle AA, Wilder-Smith A, Rocklöv J. The Reproductive number of COVID-19 is higher compared to SARS coronavirus. J Travel Med 2020; 27:taaa021. 10.1093/jtm/taaa021. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ledford H. How severe are Omicron infections? Nature 2021; 600:577–8. 10.1038/d41586-021-03794-8. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03794-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Elliott P, Eales O, Bodinier B et al. Post-peak dynamics of a national Omicron SARS-CoV-2 epidemic during January 2022. Imperial College London, medRxiv 2022.02.03.22270365 . 10.1101/2022.02.03.22270365. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Supplementary concepts