Omicron is a different variant. It is far more contagious but not as severe if you do get it and are fully vaxxed and boosted. The great majority of those hospitalized are not vaccinated. Early on, the medical experts were saying it was so contagious that it was no longer a matter of if you catch the virus but rather when. I am not so sure about this now.
There are at least four major factors influencing that classify people’s reactions to the current stage of the virus: age, vaccinations status, pre-existing conditions, and willingness to follow/not follow protocols. Age has two classes: young and old. One is either vaxxed or not. One either has pre-existing conditions that make Covid riskier or not. Lastly, people either dutifully try to follow the guidance and lay low or are done with the pandemic and are simply living their lives and doing what they want. With 16 different combinations of the factors I just laid out, it is a hodge-podge and we are seeing at least 16 different kinds of behaviors. It is hard to gauge how people will act as this complexity makes it predictable.
In businesses where there is a return to the office mandates, some come masked while other are unmasked unless the business itself has protocols. We are returning to school next week. Our classes are face-to-face, but everyone must be masked and it is strongly encouraged that the mask be a KN95 or N95. It is also strongly encouraged that everyone vaxxed and boosted or willing to get a weekly PCR test. Some people follow the rules and do not get on a plane if they have been exposed or if they have the virus. Others, and I know of some people who have done just this, get on plane if they have been with people that have it or know they have it themselves. Parents with school aged kids are of two mindsets. Some insist that their children return to school. Others, prefer they stay home and learn online until the current wave subsides.
There are interactions as well. An interaction of two factors act together to better explain what is happening. For example, parents with school aged children might interact with another factor: can work from home vs. having to report to their place of work. The former is more likely to be able to accommodate remote schooling for their children as opposed to those who must report to their workplace. The folks that have to report to their workplace are more likely to want in-person learning. I know people that have planned weddings. 80% of the invited guests attended. The people that chose not to come, after RSVPing “yes,” were for the most part older folks. Everyone that attended the weddings were unmasked. So, this is a three-way interaction. After the weddings, attendees tested positive.
Me? Though I am fully vaxxed and boosted, I am erring on the side of caution. Why? I am not entirely sure, but it is some combination of fear and being OK with hanging out mostly at home and keeping my social circle small.
None of the factors or interactions stated in the above two paragraphs have any statistical significance. I neither collected data nor did any calculations.
What happens after Omicron? If the future variants follow the trend of being more contagious and less severe, I predict that the unravelling of protocols will continue and we will slowly return to “normal.” If we combine this the news stories of medicines to effectively treat the virus and an even more effective vaccine, this could happen even faster. I can’t wait but I seem to being waiting more patiently than others.
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