The world has surpassed 305M confirmed coronavirus cases and 5.5M confirmed deaths, although the death total is likely much greater. But it has become quite clear, that the surge in cases caused by the Omicron variant is different from the Delta wave and other previous waves. It is like a tsunami of Covid-19 cases, but the hospitalisations and deaths remain relatively low. Yet, if cases are three-fold higher, then the absolute number of hospitalizations and deaths will still overwhelm the healthcare systems. The majority of the people hospitalised and dying are unvaccinated. We've had the two-dose series plus a booster -- Astra Zeneca (viral vector vaccine) followed by Pfizer/BioNtech (mRNA vaccine).
Even more astonishing is that 9,405,751,450 doses of vaccines have been administered worldwide as of Jan 9 with almost a billion delivered in the last 28 days. So with 300,000,000 recovered and more than 9 billion vaccine doses administered (so about 4.5 billion people vaccinated), that would suggest that more than half the world population of 7.9 billion has some degree of immunity. We are not at herd yet, but we may be getting there rapidly.
It is thought that because Omicron is much milder and more highly transmissible, the actual rate of infection is much higher than diagnosed. PCR tests and even antigen tests have been hard to come by in the last few weeks as Omicron surged and holiday revelry gave it its ticket to ride. The indications from GB and SA are that the Omicron wave has crested there and the transmission rate is slowing. I expect us to hit peak this week. Almost everyone we know has had it or been a close contact of someone who has.
My greatest hope is that Omicron will create a stable environment where we can coexist with Covid. As long as Omicron can infect enough people to suppress the development of new variants that are more severe, we will enter a new relationship with this virus in which we share the world and accept the degree of risk, just as we do with the flu.
I have not been writing much, but perhaps now I can begin anew. I polished our silver for the first time in two years today. It felt cathartic to wipe away two years of tarnish. For your information, I worked with vaccines in the biologicals industry for most of my career and helped launch the first rDNA vaccine (for hepatitis B) and many others. I used to think vaccines were my life. Now I know they are.
