01-04-2022, 12:34 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-04-2022, 12:35 AM by danbrotherston.)
(01-03-2022, 11:26 PM)tomh009 Wrote: If the early Omicron severity data proves to be correct (and that's still definitely an "if") the (Omicron) risk to a vaccinated person will likely start to approach the risk from the seasonal flu. Maybe not yet at that level, but going in that direction.
People do die from the flu, it is certainly not risk-free if you have some pre-existing conditions. And if COVID-19 turns into an endemic disease, some people will still die, for sure, but hopefully it will be fewer than die from the flu (which is a reasonable comparison point). Until now, COVID-19 has been considerably more dangerous, but the vaccines and Omicron are starting to change that picture.
But I don't have the public health or medical background to determine "when", let alone "how" we should get to that point in a (hopefully) controlled fashion.
I mean, yes, with omicron now looking to be less severe than other variants we are "heading" in that direction, but we're nowhere near it yet. I'm not sure of exact numbers, but in typical years the flu does not hospitalize even close to 1% those who get the flu, which is where Omicron is right now.
I see little evidence that COVID will be less dangerous than the flu any time soon, except for the availability of vaccines, which is again is negated by the availability of flu vaccines as well.
FWIW...as a result of this pandemic, I'm much more aware of the harm caused by the flu. It kills (in the US, where the numbers I saw are from) tens of thousands of people including hundreds of children every year. I'm no longer satisfied with our public health response to the flu. Our flu vaccination programs should be much more widespread, and it's shocking to me that the flu vaccine isn't free everywhere in Canada.