GOOD NEWS, BUT...

U.K. Health Agency Says People Aren’t as Sick With Omicron

The bad news is that many patients still need to be hospitalized, which will strain the health-care system anyway.

Health researchers in the U.K. have some good news and bad news when it comes to the latest variant of the coronavirus. The U.K. Health Security Agency says doctors are seeing fewer patients fall severely sick with the highly contagious spread of Omicron, especially those who have had their booster vaccine. But that doesn’t necessarily translate to fewer people in hospitals because many patients still need supervised care, especially those with compromising health conditions. The agency says that because the transmissibility is so high, more health-care workers are also catching it, meaning even if they aren’t seriously ill, they will have to isolate. Politico, which saw a preliminary report by the British agency, says it also says two doses of any vaccine just aren’t enough and that it is the booster shot that will do the most to stave off a serious illness.