Why hospitals are struggling with Omicron even as fewer people are getting seriously ill

COVID ward in Massachusetts hospital
(Image credit: Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images)

"In hospitals around the country, doctors are taking notice: This wave of COVID seems different from the last one," The New York Times reports. Yes, hospitals are filling up again as cases surge, "but in Omicron hot spots from New York to Florida to Texas, a smaller proportion of those patients are landing in intensive care units or requiring mechanical ventilation." And there is mounting evidence that Omicron is intrinsically milder for most people, especially the vaccinated or previously infected.

"We are seeing an increase in the number of hospitalizations," Dr. Rahul Sharma, emergency physician in chief for NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell hospital, told the Times. But "we're not sending as many patients to the ICU, we're not intubating as many patients, and actually, most of our patients that are coming to the emergency department that do test positive are actually being discharged."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.