No they don't. Hospitalizations are roughly half of what they were during the peak of delta, and they are currently declining as Omicron snuffs out Delta.
That letter claiming crisis isn't about the dangers of Omicron at all. It is a written demand for a pay raise. I think they should get a pay raise. Thanks to irresponsible monetary policy we now have high inflation and a national labor shortage.
From your linked article:
Crisis is not just about hospitalizations, it is about the resources patients take up due to the severity of those hospitalizations. There are limited ventilators for example. Our hospital always had plenty of bed space, but was down to one spare ventilator at the peak of Delta wave, and that was using alternative means for some patients already to try and conserve vents for those that needed them the most. Not ideal.
As the chart you posted shows, comparing Dec 13 20 to Dec 13 21, the percentage of patients on ventilators is more than double now with the current wave. Despite only 302 hospitalizations vs 491 in 2020, there are more patients on ventilators (33 of 302 currently and 30 of 491 in 2020).
The simple fact is there are a number of variables that come into play that will determine how bad this wave is. With the peak of Delta, based on other data I have posted in this thread, the large number of Americans have been vaccinated or had the virus already (unfortunately no good crossover data I could find to show virus exposure to only unvaccinated people). But based on estimates of virus that go undetected based on numerous studies, and current vaccination rates, it would be reasonable to say 80% of the population has had COVID or the vaccine(s). The vaccines, particularly those boosted, are showing a lot of protection. Those that had the virus are showing some protection, but it is unclear how much as we are too early into this to have good data.
I would expect and hope that even with a large number of breakthrough cases with Omicron due to its spike protein mutations, that most people that get it will have mild symptoms due to the number of Americans already exposed or vaccinated. I also expect the number of hospitalizations vs total infected to drop, but the severity of hospitalizations as we are currently seeing are actually worse based on early data.
The idea that Omicron is somehow safer for unvaccinated is a wishful thought at this point, and early data is not supporting it. We are seeing more severe cases for those hospitalized, and there is unfortunately a good probability that Omicron may still overwhelm our health systems limited resources (not just beds).
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