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Omicron “Mild”? Hardly.
This is the worst wave we have seen yet.
I keep reading that the Omicron variant is much milder: “ The details of the Omicron variant are becoming clearer, and they are encouraging,” writes the NY Times.
I keep reading that hospitalizations are way less; cases are milder; and the disease is not as bad as that with previous variants, such as Delta.
If that’s the case, I’m not seeing that at all where I am (outside of Chicago). This wave is the worst one we’ve yet endured.
Almost half of all the beds in my hospital are occupied by Covid patients. More than half of my ICU is Covid patients, and all of them — every single one — is on a ventilator. We have surpassed our record numbers from last Fall, and the end is not in sight at all. And, every hour, more and more Covid patients keep coming to our hospital.
On top of all this, we are all exhausted after nearly two years battling Covid on the front lines. We are spent — physically and emotionally. Moreover, so many staff are out sick with Covid, and it is causing stress and wreaking havoc on every level. Everyone is on edge.
In fact, I asked my Hospital Medicine colleagues about whether they thought this latest Omicron wave was “mild.” One said straight up, “It’s bullshit.” The other said, “Hell no!”
