The risk of reinfection with the omicron strain of coronavirus is 5.4 times higher than with the delta strain, scientists from Imperial College London reported.

According to Express, in the case of the new strain, the protection provided by COVID-19 may be as low as 19%.

However, another study conducted in South Africa found that infection with the new strain could protect against delta. The authors of the study found out that antibodies in people who were infected with omicron have 4 times more increased protection against delta.