Omicron is popping up everywhere, but the big problem in the U.S. remains the delta variant
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Over the last few days, the COVID-19 news has been dominated by concern over the omicron variant. Scientists are worried by the number of changes to the virus, including changes to the critical spike protein. Health officials around the world are nervous becaOmicron is popping up everywhere, but the big problem in the U.S. remains the delta variant
Over the last few days, the COVID-19 news has been dominated by concern over the omicron variant. Scientists are worried by the number of changes to the virus, including changes to the critical spike protein. Health officials around the world are nervous because a majority of the planet is still surfing the delta wave, and the idea of something worse coming along at this moment is genuinely terrifying. So the news this week has degraded into snatching at crumbs of information that put together sound something like “omicron isn’t that bad, oh wait, it’s horrible, or maybe not, or maybe vaccines work, or the don’t, it’s already here, wait its been here, oh god, it’s everywhere.” Which is not helpful. It’s still unclear how contagious omicron is compared to other variants. Or how likely it is to cause serious illness. Or how much difference it makes in the efficiency of vaccines. What is clear is that COVID-19 cases are once again rising in the United States, driven not by a new variant, but by the one that has been dominant since the spring—delta. With increased travel, overloaded facilities, and an increasing push from Republicans to behave as if the whole pandemic is simply over, all the numbers in the United States are simply heading in the wrong direction. Read more