> absolutely no definitive evidence that Omicron is somehow less lethal
Pretty much all evidence coming out of South Africa is showing that omicron is very mild and hospitalizations are extremely rare.
Pretty much all evidence coming out of South Africa is showing that omicron is very mild and hospitalizations are extremely rare.
Oxford Study of early Omicron in UK shows it's no different than Delta, but they cautioned that data is limited. [1]
The point is: while we might get lucky with Omicron, we don't have definitive data on it, ergo, we have to rely on our past experience with Alpha/Beta/Delta to inform policy.
And FYI what is 'definitive' is that we are 100% sure that it is 'much more transmissible' by about 3x.
If Omicron is 'as bad as Delta' - and - we knew it was 3x more transmissible - and we were not sure of it's legality - and the government didn't take decisive action, the resulting death would imply dereliction of duty on a criminal scale.
There are 10x more people who are 'pro vaccine' than 'anti' and the 'protests' over needless death would be much worse.
I am hopeful that Omicron will be less lethal but esp. with Xmas and 3x tranmissability, we have not choice but to take action.
[1] https://www.research.ox.ac.uk/article/2021-12-14-omicron-and...