When the COVID-19 peaked in 2020 in the US and around the world, there was some hope that perhaps we had seen the worst of it. Hospitals were overwhelmed, millions were infected, and hundreds of thousands died from the novel virus. But in recent months, COVID has mutated and attacked in the form of new variants. The Delta variant and Omicron which were discovered lately are two of the most notable variants.
Omicron, in particular, threatens to reverse some of the gains we had made in tackling the pandemic. Although the variant has been described as milder than Delta and even the original coronavirus, it has spread quickly. Omicron is currently driving the number of deaths and hospitalization in the US and other countries. The good news is that this time around, we have millions of people vaccinated.
As a result, the possible impact of the variant was significantly minimized. Besides, the threat of Omicron also appears to have pushed more people to get the vaccine in the US. Despite this, Omicron continues to target the elderly and the unvaccinated. The variant has killed a lot of people above 75 and continues to take a toll on the unvaccinated and the medically vulnerable. In fact, according to the Washington Post, over half of all deaths reported in January were of people above the age of 75.
The soaring death toll also shows why health experts and doctors were asking the public to take Omicron seriously. According to CDC data, the seven-day average of deaths reported has now reached 2,600. It is higher than the peak reported in September last year which stood at around 2,000. This was a time when the delta variant had become widespread in the US. So, even though Omicron has been described as milder than delta, it appears to be killing more people.
Also, it is emerging that at the start of 2022, the rate of hospitalization has gone up. But more interestingly, hospitalizations are lagging behind deaths. This suggests that Omicron is deadlier than anything we have seen. It kills fast and with a higher degree compared to delta and the original COVID-19 virus. It is also important to note that during the delta surge, serious illnesses were reported mostly among younger middle-aged populations. But omicron is now targeting older people.
According to health experts, during the delta surge last year, a lot of young people had not been vaccinated. There was a policy at the time to prioritize vaccinations for the older population and the immune-compromised. But this time around, a bigger percentage of young people are vaccinated. This could explain why hospitalization among younger people has been low during the omicron surge.
The current death toll is expected to surge above 3,000 with seniors bearing the brunt of it all. The Biden administration is calling on people to get booster shots to slow down the spread and reduce the deaths. This comes as many states continue to ease pandemic restrictions as well.
