Omicron spreading rapidly, but ICU cases drop dramatically

 Washington Examiner:

The omicron variant is now the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the U.S., according to federal tracking.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that omicron accounted for more than 73% of COVID-19 cases last week, up from about 13% the week prior. The agency revised its data Monday to reflect an increase in confirmed omicron cases the week ending Dec. 11, which was initially estimated to be about 3%.

...

Early data out of South Africa reported that hospitalizations due to the omicron variant were 29% lower than in the initial wave in March 2020. One major caveat, though, is South Africa's relatively high population immunity. The country has endured three robust waves of COVID-19 in which nearly everyone was exposed to the virus whether they got severely ill or not.

COVID-19 cases continue to surge in most of the U.S., especially in the Northeast and Midwest. Delta, meanwhile, still accounts for more than 26% of cases in the U.S., and has proven to cause severe illness in unvaccinated people. Hospitals were already struggling to keep up with patients amid delta's onslaught, on top of exacerbated shortages of healthcare workers across the country.

...

This report from Ontario suggests the ICU case rate for this variant is significantly lower. 

...

% of cases admitted to ICU has Downwards arrowdramatically, to just 0.29% This is the lowest it's EVER been 70%+ lower than it was just a month ago 80%+ lower than the 3rd wave peak.

...

Fatalities caused by it remain extremely low.  While the Northeast is reporting a surge, Nebraska says there has been a sharp drop in hospitalizations for Covid.

See, also:

Inside the Omicron fear factory 
Public health chiefs and the media are working overtime to gin up hysteria

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