Transmission Potential of the Omicron Variant of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in South Korea, 25 November 2021-8 January 2022

Eunha Shim; Wongyeong Choi; Donghyok Kwon; Taeyoung Kim; Youngji Song

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofac248

Transmission Potential of the Omicron Variant of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in South Korea, 25 November 2021-8 January 2022

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2022 May 13;9(7):ofac248. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofac248. eCollection 2022 Jul.

Authors

Eunha Shim¹, Wongyeong Choi¹, Donghyok Kwon², Taeyoung Kim², Youngji Song¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mathematics, Soongsil University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
² Division of Public Health Emergency Response Research, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Osong, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Our study indicates sustained transmission (effective reproduction number, 1.3; serial interval, 4.2 days; regional doubling times, 3.3-11.4 days) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant (N = 2351) in South Korea (25 November 2021-8 January 2022), implicating insufficient protection through vaccination and supporting nonpharmaceutical control measures.

Keywords: COVID-19; Korea; Omicron; SARS-CoV-2; reproduction number.