There are already early signs in hospitalization and ICU data that the experience of Omicron in America may be harsher than has been observed so far in Europe.
This should perhaps not come as a surprise, given that Delta was much more lethal in the U.S. than in Europe โ and the current data may still reflect some lingering cases of that variant.
And it does not mean a tsunami of deaths is right around the corner or that this new variant will mean for the U.S. what Delta meant for India. (To begin with, the U.S. is, by global standards, very well vaccinated.)
But the higher rate of severity observed so far is a reminder that the shape of a pandemic is not simply a matter of the biological properties of the virus; it is also determined by the social and immunological context in which that virus spreads.ย
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But one apparent difference between New York and Europe may also prove significant, if our Omicron wave continues to be more severe: Even though our vaccination rates may be comparable, we appear to be seeing a much bigger share of cases among the unvaccinated here than they have over there.
