[vpavicic]

As I understand it, the SA population is quite young and we are waiting for more data to come in on the effects of omicron (says so in the link you provided as well)... let's not forget we dismissed the whole virus as "just a common cold" at the beginning of the whole story as well.

The problem with letting others deal with their consequences is that they are overworking the medical staff, and are disregarding the population that cannot be vaxxed due to medical reasons.

I agree we should move from this fear, but I understand how for some the fear is still too real.

[SideburnsOfDoom]

> the SA population is quite young

Quite young, and quite highly likely to already have had COVID-19: over 3/4 of the population has had it.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-18/deaths-da...

[JPKab]

Isn't this the case in the US, but in a slightly different manner? We're talking about a majority of adults being vaccinated, and then according to seroprevalence tracking over time, it's estimated that a large percentage of the population (both vaxxed and unvaxxed) have already recovered from an infection as well. But there is one delta on top of the age difference: We have a high rate of obesity, and the latest research shows that adipose tissue contributes to bad outcomes due to the virus infecting it and the cells then being a potent source of cytokines that dramatically and dangerously increase inflammation.

The great irony is that as much as we focus (rightly) on unvaxxed clogging the healthcare system, the obese who have been increasingly clogging it over the last few decades are the ones clogging the ICUs when they catch covid. All for a chronic condition that, for most, can be alleviated with voluntary lifestyle changes.