The Omicron variant is largely matching earlier predictions of being a less severe COVID-19 variant for those who either have immunity from prior infection or who have been vaccinated, while still causing serious illness for those who are either not vaccinated, or who lack immunity from prior infection with COVID-19.

There appear to be a large number of mildly symptomatic infections nationwide and a trend of patients being admitted to hospitals and then testing positive for the Omicron variant, suggesting Omicron is causing physical stress on patients which exacerbates health impacts of pre-existing conditions. Given what we know of how COVID-19 impacts the respiratory and circulatory systems, it’s probable that the impact is greatest on those who have heart conditions, or breathing problems such as asthma or COPD.

This author has heard multiple anecdotal reports of those who are vaccinated becoming ill with omicron, and experiencing intense headaches, aching joints, shortness of breath, and producing large amounts of very sticky yellow to green mucus.

Pediatric hospitalizations are peaking in the United States, as children ages five and under, who are not yet eligible for the Coronavirus vaccines, are having their first exposure to COVID-19. Even in the best of times daycare and pre-school settings are notorious for being disease vectors. Getting a large group of children to wash their hands properly and practice social distancing, even in the middle of a pandemic, is a nearly impossible task.

Talk of Omicron as “less severe” appears to be counter-productive. Many of those individuals who still haven’t been vaccinated tend to be those who are science-illiterate. They are individuals who take every statement at face value and have no capacity for comprehending the ambiguity that exists in complex situations like a pandemic. The rise in pediatric vaccinations suggests that the difference in illness caused by Omicron isn’t so much a dramatic change in illness severity from the Delta variant, as a change in severity created by a population with a steadily growing rate of vaccinations.