The Omicron variant is significantly less severe than other strains of COVID-19, according to a report from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to the agency, the risk of hospitalisation from Omicron was half compared to the risk from the Delta variant, Daily Mail reported.

While it has long been known by health officials and experts alike that the Omicron variant is not as deadly as its predecessor, it has led to some deaths in the UK, Australia, the US, and India.

Currently, the US is averaging 750,515 new cases every day, the second highest daily total recorded yet in the pandemic —only trailing Tuesday's total, 11 January - with 1,716 deaths being attributed to the virus each day.

And the recent 10 percent uptick in COVID deaths in the US is actually being caused by the Delta variant, not the highly prevalent Omicron strain, CDC chief Rochelle Walensky was quoted as saying at a news conference on Wednesday.

The CDC data also estimates that 98 percent of active COVID cases in the US are of the Omicron variant.

If the variant spreads rapidly, and is unlikely to cause death, it could quickly burn through the population and begin to recede.

Experts and health officials are hopeful that the recent surge caused by the variant is showing signs of burning out, as it could run out of people to infect in the coming weeks, the report said.

(This story was published from a syndicated feed. Only the headline and picture has been edited by FIT.)