3 in 4 Americans have immunity from Omicron, model estimates, but the other 80 million 'have to be very careful'


About 73 percent of Americans are currently immune from the Omicron coronavirus variant, and that number could rise to 80 percent by mid-March as the highly infectious COVID-19 strain continues to circulate, the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimated for The Associated Press.
About 50 percent of eligible Americans are fully vaccinated and boosted, about 80 million COVID-19 infections have been confirmed, and many other infections were never reported. The IHME modelers took those figures into account and tried to fill in the blanks by looking at health data from Britain, Denmark, South Africa, and other countries, AP reported Thursday. With three-fourths of Americans having some level of protection, "future spikes will likely require much less — if any — dramatic disruption to society."
"I am optimistic even if we have a surge in summer, cases will go up, but hospitalizations and deaths will not," IHME's Ali Mokdad tells AP. But even in the most optimistic estimates, some 80 million Americans are still vulnerable to a dangerous virus, and "the 26 percent who could still get omicron right now have to be very careful," Mokdad added. "We've reached a much better position for the coming months, but with waning immunity we shouldn't take it for granted."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Millions of Americans don't have immunity because they refuse to get vaccinated, but there are also more than seven million immunocompromised adults in the U.S. who will likely never have strong immunity and tens of million more with at least one medical condition that puts them at greater risk of serious COVID-19 infections, The New York Times reports. "And they have seethed over talk from politicians and public health experts that they perceive as minimizing the value of their lives."
Transplant recipients, cancer patients, and others with compromised immune systems have been "sequestering at home, keeping their children out of school, and skipping medical care rather than risk exposure to the virus" since March 2020, the Times reports. "As Year 3 of the pandemic approaches, with public support for precautions plummeting and governors of even the most liberal states moving to shed mask mandates, they find themselves coping with exhaustion and grief, rooted in the sense that their neighbors and leaders are willing to accept them as collateral damage in a return to normalcy."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Disney is still shielding Americans from an episode of 'Bluey'
Talking Points The US culture war collides with its lucrative children's show
-
6 captivating new museum exhibitions to see this summer
The Week Recommends Get up close to Gustave Caillebotte and discover New Vision photography
-
'The answer isn't to shake faith in the dollar'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive order
speed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr.: A new plan for sabotaging vaccines
Feature The Health Secretary announced changes to vaccine testing and asks Americans to 'do your own research'
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments