Progress of the Covid pandemic
The Omicron variant has proved to be more infectious than previous variants but created less morbidity and mortality. In Europe and elsewhere overall it seems that hospital admission rates and deaths attributed to the virus are steadily falling. One caveat however is that the fall isn’t consistent over different countries. A significant reason appears to be that the way that key statistical indicators (deaths and hospital admissions attributed to Covid19) are actually collected is not standardised. This being the case, comparing one country against another may inherently be like comparing apples with oranges. More or less the same shape maybe, but not the same substance.
Undoubtedly we’re ‘up to speed’ with effective vaccinations that can be modified subsequently, as with the influenzas. Can we now say therefore after the devastating effects on all of our lives over the last two years, that this particular respiratory virus is now of the same class and threat potential as the influenza virus , that we’re quite used to living with?
We think there are reasons for caution, although in all probability, we have moved out of the pandemic phase. Apart from the uncertainty inherent in the statistics, it’s always possible that a more virulent mutation could arise at any time. Best then to continue to take sensible precautions, continue to promote vaccinations especially for those reluctant to accept them having been fed false or misleading information, and watch and wait, while living life as normally as is practical.