There are times when turning on the news these days when it becomes understandably almost overwhelming to hear the latest stories about the spread of COVID infections with the omicron variant. (Those "times" are bordering on non-stop.)
It's not that there is what would traditionally be called "good news," but a few things have become part of the pandemic story that suggest some things that are at least positive. The first is that as infectious as the omicron variant is, it doesn't appear to be as virulent as the previous Delta strain. Far more people are getting infected, but not as many of those are having to go to the hospital. The second is that more doctors are beginning to point out that the most important statistic with any infectious disease is hospitalizations and deaths, not infections. Lest that sound like looking for something positive to say in the middle of Hell, keep in mind that during all the flu seasons we've lived through for decades, the number that always has been reported is how many people died, not how many were infected. And finally comes this very interesting article from Healthline.com, which is a respectable medical website. To be very clear, it’s not proof of anything, nor does it offer itself of proof, however it's well-documented and authoritative. In short, the point it makes is – Most pandemics last 2-3 years. Like all living things in biology, viruses don’t want to kill their hosts, but want to be able to keep infecting and spread. The Spanish flu largely ended when it mutated to become highly infectious and spread extensively to a point that was less-virulent. (In fact, remnants of the Spanish flu still exist today.) The omicron strain might be the first step along these same lines. The full article explains all this better and in much more detail. It's very much worth checking out here.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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