LAUSR

Previous studies have shown that patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have high mortality rates. Infection with the omicron variant has been described as a milder disease course in the general population. However, the outcome for immunocompromised patients have not previously been reported. In a cohort of patients with CLL tested for severe adult respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) at hospital test sites in the time periods before and after dominance of the omicron variant, rates of hospitalizations and ICU-admissions declined significantly, whereas 30-day mortality remained as high as 23% in the period with dominance of the omicron sublineage BA.2 variant. However, for a larger population-based cohort of patients with CLL (including the hospital cohort), 30-day mortality was 2%. Thus, patients with CLL with close hospital contactss and in particular those above 70 years of age with one or more comorbidities should be considered for closer monitoring and pre-emptive antiviral therapy upon a positive SARS-CoV-2 test.