a SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern, Omicron (B.1.1.529), was identified in South Africa as responsible for a fourth wave of COVID-19. 1,2 The high number of spike mutations has raised concerns about its ability to evade vaccine and spread. 3,4 We assessed hospitalized patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result during the fourth wave compared with previous waves.Methods | Netcare is a private health care group consisting of 49 acute care hospitals (>10 000 beds) across South Africa. South Africa has experienced 3 COVID-19 waves: (1) June to August 2020 (ancestral variant), (2) November 2020 to January 2021 (Beta), and (3) May to September 2021 (Delta). Cases again started to increase beginning November 15, 2021, coinciding with the identification of Omicron; as of December 7, 26% community positivity rates were reached. We identified the period when 26% positivity rates were reached in the previous waves (wave 1:

BackgroundAcute SARS‐COVID‐19 infection may increase readmission risk compared to other respiratory infections. We assessed the 1‐year readmission and inhospital death rates of hospitalized SARS‐COVID‐19 patients compared to patients hospitalized with other types of pneumonia.MethodsWe determined the 1‐year readmission and inhospital death rate of adult patients initially hospitalized with a positive SARS‐COVID‐19 result, and subsequently discharged, between March 2020 and August 2021, at a Netcare private hospital in South Africa, and compared this to all hospitalized adult pneumonia patients in the 3 years prior to the COVID‐19 pandemic (2017–2019).ResultsThe 1‐year readmission rate in COVID‐19 patients was 6.6% (328/50,067) versus 8.5% in pneumonia patients (4699/55,439; p < 0.001), with an inhospital mortality rate of 7.7% (n = 251) and 9.7% (n = 454; p = 0.002) for COVID‐19 and pneumonia patients, respectively.

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