Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37676146›Full record

ArticleEuro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin2023

A standardised protocol for relative SARS-CoV-2 variant severity assessment, applied to Omicron BA.1 and Delta in six European countries, October 2021 to February 2022.

Tommy Nyberg, Peter Bager, Ingrid Bech Svalgaard, Dritan Bejko, Nick Bundle, Josie Evans, Tyra Grove Krause, Jim McMenamin, Joël Mossong, Heather Mutch and 10 more

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Observational
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Quasi-species prevalence and clinical impact of evolving SARS-CoV-2 lineages in European COVID-19 cohorts, January 2020 to February 2022.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

20 authors at 9 institutions in 6 countries.

Tommy NybergMRC Biostatistics Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Peter BagerStatens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Ingrid Bech SvalgaardStatens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Dritan BejkoHealth Directorate, Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
Nick BundleEuropean Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden.
Josie EvansPublic Health Scotland, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Tyra Grove KrauseStatens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Jim McMenaminPublic Health Scotland, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Joël MossongHealth Directorate, Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
Heather MutchPublic Health Scotland, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Ajibola OmokanyeEuropean Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden.
André Peralta-SantosDirectorate-General of Health, Lisbon, Portugal.
Pedro Pinto-LeiteDirectorate-General of Health, Lisbon, Portugal.
Jostein StarrfeltNorwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Simon ThelwallCOVID-19 Vaccines and Epidemiology Division, UK Health Security Agency, London, United Kingdom.
Lamprini VenetiNorwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Robert WhittakerNorwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
John WoodPublic Health Scotland, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Richard PebodyThese authors contributed equally to this work and share last authorship.
Anne M PresanisMRC Biostatistics Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Public Health Scotland · GBNorwegian Institute of Public Health · NOStatens Serum Institut · DKDireção Geral do Território · PTEuropean Centre for Disease Prevention and Control · SELuxembourg Institute of Health · LUUniversity of Cambridge · GBUK Health Security Agency · GBWorld Health Organization Regional Office for Europe · DK

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_PC_19074Medical Research Council MC_UU_00002/11World Health Organization 001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Several SARS-CoV-2 variants that evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic have appeared to differ in severity, based on analyses of single-country datasets. With decreased testing and sequencing, international collaborative studies will become increasingly important for timely assessment of the severity of new variants. Therefore, a joint WHO Regional Office for Europe and ECDC working group was formed to produce and pilot a standardised study protocol to estimate relative case-severity of SARS-CoV-2 variants during periods when two variants were co-circulating. The study protocol and its associated statistical analysis code was applied by investigators in Denmark, England, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal and Scotland to assess the severity of cases with the Omicron BA.1 virus variant relative to Delta. After pooling estimates using meta-analysis methods (random effects estimates), the risk of hospital admission (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 0.41; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.31-0.54), admission to intensive care unit (aHR = 0.12; 95% CI: 0.05-0.27) and death (aHR = 0.31; 95% CI: 0.28-0.35) was lower for Omicron BA.1 compared with Delta cases. The aHRs varied by age group and vaccination status. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the feasibility of conducting variant severity analyses in a multinational collaborative framework and adds evidence for the reduced severity of the Omicron BA.1 variant.

Indexed as

COVID-19SARS-CoV-2EuropeHumansMeta-Analysis as TopicPandemicsCOVID-19SARS-CoV-2severitystudy protocolvariant of concernvirulence

Identifiers

PMID37676146
PMCPMC10486193
OpenAlexW4386504093

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.