COVID-19 variants of concern, particularly Delta, more harmful than original strain: Canadian study

COVID-19 variants of concern (VOCs), particularly the Delta variant, cause more severe illness than the native strain of the virus, increasing the risk hospitalization, admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) and death, according to a large Canadian study released Tuesday. The study found that people infected with VOCs were significantly younger and less likely to have comorbidities than those with non-VOC infections, and, even after adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities and other factors, th