Friday, December 31, 2021

Potentially, 10% to 20% of the entire U.S. workforce could be infected with Omicron and at one time from now on through March 2022

 Another expert, Michael Osterholm -- whose analysis has been borne out by events in the pandemic -- warned that potentially 10% to 20% of the US workforce could be infected at any one time, a figure that could trigger chaos in the health care, food, retail and travel sectors -- not to mention when schools are back in session after the holidays next week.

"It will be a matter of weeks before we have an entire viral blizzard across this country," Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told CNN's Laura Coates on Wednesday.

A new phase of the crisis

The frightening reality of the month to come suggests little reason for any national mood of celebration or new beginnings this New Year's Eve.

Yet this latest phase of the pandemic, a global nightmare now heading into its third year, has been the most disorienting so far. But, paradoxically, Omicron's surge of ubiquitous infection may contain within it seeds of hope.

end partial quote from:

https://www.kake.com/story/45561008/a-pandemic-scarred-year-ends-in-darkness-but-with-hope-on-the-horizon

continued quote from above quote about the hope it brings:

While it is infecting many more people than earlier strains of the virus and so proportionally will send more to the hospital — a crisis that could buckle the medical system — Omicron seems to cause less serious and prolonged disease, according to a growing body of scientific evidence. For many Americans who are fully vaccinated and boosted, it is not as threatening as previous waves of virus — and may even manifest as a cold or cause no symptoms.

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