First, look at hospital admissions as a % of the previous peak. Despite the UK have higher cases and getting theirs earlier (more time for cases to turn into hospitalizations), they're only at about 1/3 of their peak. We're already approaching our previous peak.
Why would Omicron seem "mild" in the UK but deadly here? It's all about the seniors who aren't boosted or equivalent (2 doses plus infection). Our rate of seniors without even a pair of vaccinations is far higher.
This means that for a given number of cases, the US will see much higher hospitalization rates and likely much higher death rates than countries that have done better on vaxxing and boosting.
February is going to be a nightmare. And almost all of it is easily avoidable.
