It was only the prevalence of vaccinations that prevented things from getting much worse. As far as the unvaccinated were concerned, the impact was devastating.
Just goes to show the difference in public messaging. Where I live, all the headlines said that Omicron and Delta were less deadly (but more contagious). Then again, Delta arrived here just as the vaccination campaign was starting, so where were not many column inches left to discuss the new variant.
>so you don’t need to imagine.
I sure do. I have yet to meet anyone who's had more than flu-like symptoms with any strain of Covid, and I doubt my experience is particularly unique.