Likely severe repercussions are in store for the world economy as Omicron hits China fully. As profits drop from shortages occur; it will likely be reflected in the various stock markets also.
While the vaccinated have better protection from hospitalization. They and I still are subject to Covid infection. It is true Moderna & Pfizer are working on modifying the original vaccine to deal with Omicron. But the Covid virus will mutate to deal with the new vaccine. Thus herd immunity isn’t possible.
Covid is permanently in the macro economic future of the world.
https://www.concordcoalition.org/blog-post/new-normal-covid-…
This week on Facing the Future, we spoke with Dr. Michael Osterholm of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, one of the world’s leading experts on infectious disease and epidemiology. Osterholm is the Director of the University’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. He was also one of six Biden transition team COVID-19 policy advisors who recently called for the President’s administration to make a major shift in strategy for managing the pandemic, accepting the ‘new normal’ that the virus will be with us for a long time, we will not eradicate it, and we cannot be in a constant state of emergency. Osterholm and his colleagues are also calling for a major investment in the nation’s public health infrastructure coming out of this pandemic, where some of the unanticipated weaknesses in our system hampered the response.
Osterholm continued, “Omicron is the wind. You can deflect it, but you can’t stop it. I think what you are going to see happen over the course of the next 6-8 weeks is in China there will be more and more widespread Omicron transmission. Because of their zero COVID policy they are going to try to shut things down, major geographic areas. With that they are going to shut down manufacturing, many of the supply chains that the world depends on will be unavailable more so than at any time during the pandemic.”
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2787944?eT…
The goal for the “new normal” with COVID-19 does not include eradication or elimination, eg, the “zero COVID” strategy.2 COVID-19 vaccination nor infection appear to confer lifelong immunity. Current vaccines do not offer sterilizing immunity against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Infectious diseases cannot be eradicated when there is limited long-term immunity following infection or vaccination or nonhuman reservoirs of infection
For the week of December 13, 2021, the CDC reported the US experienced more than 900?000 COVID-19 cases, more than 50?000 new hospitalizations for COVID-19, and more than 7000 deaths.5,6 The tolerance for disease, hospitalization, and death varies widely among individuals and communities. What constitutes appropriate thresholds for hospitalizations and death, at what cost, and with what trade-offs remains undetermined.
For the week of December 13, 2021, the CDC reported the US experienced more than 900?000 COVID-19 cases, more than 50?000 new hospitalizations for COVID-19, and more than 7000 deaths.5,6 The tolerance for disease, hospitalization, and death varies widely among individuals and communities. What constitutes appropriate thresholds for hospitalizations and death, at what cost, and with what trade-offs remains undetermined.