early data are based largely on reports from South Africa—a country with a relatively young population and high level of prior infection—and on reports involving international travelers, who tend to be younger and healthier.
If Omicron does cause less severe disease than previous variants, the sheer number of infections could still result in a similar or greater number of severe cases.
Well I know the situation in the ground is serious - but you still have fucking NPR running stories about how it's no big deal. I think they'll continue that media narrative as far as they can to get through to January.