Omicron Is Coming: Can We Live With It?

Ryan Bourne andJeffrey A. SingerThe U.S. is about to be hit by a huge wave of infections from the COVID-19 omicron variant. Thoughit ’s unclear yet whether omicron isnaturally less severe than, say, the delta variant, South African and British case data shows just how quickly it spreads, with significant vaccine evasion and widespread anecdotal reports of COVID-19 reinfections.UK recorded daily cases, for example, have risen quickly to theirhighest level in the pandemic, despite not counting any reinfections as new cases. These numbers vastly understate true daily infections, because not all those infected test and therefore get processed as cases.Four days ago, the British health minister said the government there believed new omicron infections were running at around 200,000 per day (equivalent to nearly a million infections per day for a population the size of the U.S.) And things are getting worse: omicron-specific infections are doubling in London every1.5 days.One epidemiologist thinks England is just 5 days away from lab capacity for test results being completely maxed out, making such calculations impossible.Already, there are pockets of rapidly rising COVID-19 cases in the U.S. that suggest omicron is taking off here alongside delta infections. Confirmed new COVID-19 cases acrossNew England are surging. Cornell University saw itscaseloads explode over the past week despite its population being97 percent vaccinated. According to those on the ground the vast majority...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs