Omicron Variant: Preliminary data published by Britain’s public health agency suggests that people with the omicron variant of the coronavirus are between 50 and 70 per cent less likely to end up in hospital than those with the delta variant. The U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) cautioned that its analysis was “preliminary and highly uncertain” due to the small number of omicron patients in hospitals and the fact that most were in younger age groups.