Post-COVID conditions during Delta and early-Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant periods among adults in the United States

BackgroundPost-COVID conditions after infection with new SARS-CoV-2 variants have been incompletely described. We compared the prevalence and risk factors for ongoing symptoms lasting 4 weeks or longer (often referred to as post-COVID Conditions) among adults who had tested positive vs. negative during the Delta and early-Omicron periods. MethodsSelf-reported survey data regarding symptoms and previous SARS-CoV 2 test results were collected from May 31 - July 6, 2022, from a probability sampling of United States adults. Respondents were classified according to their test result, predominant circulating variant when respondents first tested positive (Delta vs early-Omicron), and demographic risk factors. ResultsAmong 2,421 respondents, 256 tested positive during Delta, 460 during early-Omicron, and 1,705 always tested negative. Nearly one-fourth (22.3%) of negative respondents reported [&ge;]1symptom that lasted [&ge;]4 weeks, compared to 60.6% (p<0.05) of respondents who tested positive during the Delta period and 47.8% (p<0.05) during the early-Omicron period. Fatigue, change in smell/taste, and cough were commonly reported by respondents who tested positive. Demographic risk factors associated with ongoing symptoms were being female and unemployed (aOR 1.28, 95% CI 1.06-1.55; aOR 1.48, 95% CI: 1.17-1.87). ConclusionThe reported occurrence of ongoing symptoms associated with post-COVID conditions was reduced during the early-Omicron period, compared with Delta.