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

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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."

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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.