This Omicron wave will certainly help boost immunity, "but at a potentially very high cost," said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. The Omicron variant, thankfully, is linked to less severe illness than its dominant predecessor, Delta, particularly for those who have the added protection of at least two vaccine doses. 'The dangerous temptation is to just let Omicron burn through populations while trying to jack up vaccination coverage,' said Dr. David Naylor, who co-chairs the federal government's COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. The Omicron variant is linked to less severe illness than its dominant predecessor, Delta, particularly for those who have the added protection of at least two vaccine doses. But there's no easy fix — and no way to predict exactly what the future will hold or how long any hard-won immunity from Omicron will last.

Source: CBC News January 11, 2022 18:07 UTC