It is easy to panic with a new variant making the rounds.
The reality is complex. Initial research shows that the Omicron variant is milder than Delta. The World Health Organization had yet to tally a single death from the variant as of December 4.
The general narrative is that Omicron went from a scary strain on the horizon to one that is scaring everyone shitless. We understand.
The very preliminary data that is available seems to support what epidemiologists have been saying for months: that COVID is becoming endemic like flus, colds, and other commonplace viruses. It suddenly feels like the sky is falling.
It feels like with each new variant there is a knee-jerk reaction to emotionally reverting back to spring 2020 mode because of how media consumption habits have interacted with public perception. We are once again facing a lot of voices that are pushing information at us. It all comes after 21 months of health terror.
We know that even if Omicron does turn out to be deadlier than we think, those of us who are both relatively healthy and fully vaccined and boosted are in better shape than we were at the start of the epidemic.
It doesn't reduce the risk of transmission to people who aren'tvaccinated, who may end up needing hospitalization or worse. Even people who are sick with non-COVID ailments can be affected by COVID patients overwhelming hospital systems.
If we have learned anything from this saga so far, it is to take a deep breath, look at the data, and not to panic. When confronted with scary stimuli, rationality is the first thing to go out the window, and there are few things scarier than headline upon headline about a mysterious new variant.
The same advice is given to government institutions, which have struggled to respond to changes in COVID. We should encourage our elected officials to take a data-driven public health approach as well because it is not unlikely that they will overreact by closing borders or restricting travel.
If we had an orb to ponder, we might know if Omicron is a serious threat or not. We don't have any knowledge of what to do if you test positive, but we do know that to calm down, go out less, and wait for the science to work out before doing anything drastic.
There is a list of helpful Omicron coverage.
News coverage shows creeping anxiety amid Delta surge.
Hospitalizations are a better indicator of Covid's impact.
How do you calculate the risk?
Don't be surprised when you get Omicron.
A study says that Omicron is 70 times faster but less severe.
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