Another example of how we're normalizing #COVID19 risks is hospitalizations. In the US, hospitalizations have declined since the holiday peak, but the rate as of January 17 (1.52 hospitalizations/100,000 population) is higher than it's been for all but 14 weeks in the past 11 months.

The 2nd thing people seem to miss is that the primary #COVID19 risk is NOT severe acute illness, hospitalization or death. Yes, we're losing around 4,000 lives a week in the US, but the bigger risk is that COVID is leaving so many with disabling symptoms. Data from the first two years of the pandemic found 71% of people with #longCOVID required continuing medical treatment or were unable to work for 6 months or more, and 18% could not return to work after a year. https://news.yahoo.com/long-covid-keeping-significant-numbers-125618654.html

If you add all that together--a high baseline of transmission and illness from a disease that disables a significant share of people at a time when #COVID19 is evolving and our protections fade--it does not add up to something very positive for 2023. We're being too lax about the risks. We're ignoring the people at greater risk who must stay locked at home because we're so careless. And we're disregarding the continued risk to the health of ourseles and loved ones.