Here's a link to a very interesting article on the Omicron variant of Covid:-

[english.elpais.com]

>>>an extract>>>
"Omicron is not harmless. In fact, the latest studies suggest that the coronavirus variant that is sweeping across the world is not radically less severe in itself; it is simply that omicron is infecting a population with different characteristics. Now the delta variant, which was identified a year ago in India, and omicron, detected a month ago in South Africa, coexist and scientists are trying to compare the risk of hospitalization among similar demographics, half infected with omicron and the other half with delta.

When analyzed, it appears that the risk of the new variant is lower, but a study from Imperial College London published just before Christmas reveals that up to 40% of omicron cases could be people who have already had Covid-19, compared to 8% with delta. Both variants are highly contagious among the unvaccinated, but omicron is also capable of infecting a significantly larger number of people who already have good defenses, making it seem less serious."

>>> another part:->>>
"The problem is the sheer volume of the current wave. If the probability of ending up in hospital with omicron were even 50% lower than with delta, with cases doubling every two days, there would be the same number of Covid admissions within the space of two days, according to epidemiologist Deepti Gurdasani, from Queen Mary University of London. And cases of omicron have indeed been doubling every two days in many countries. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington estimated on December 22 that three billion people will be infected with the new variant in the next three months. If these estimates are confirmed, there will be as many cases in the next quarter as there have been over two years."