Comparative hospitalization risk for SARS‐CoV‐2 Omicron and Delta variant infections, by variant predominance periods and patient‐level sequencing results, New York City, August 2021–January 2022

Hospitalization risk was lower among patients testing positive when Omicron predominated, compared with Delta. This finding persisted after adjusting for prior diagnosis and vaccination status, suggesting intrinsic virologic properties, not population-based immunity, explained the lower severity. Secondary analyses demonstrated collider bias from the sequencing sampling frame changing over time in ways associated with disease severity. Representative data collection is necessary to avoid bias when comparing disease severity between previously dominant and newly emerging variants.