(The Delta variant still accounts for most infections. However the Omicron variant puts a new wrinkle into the mix. Although the fatality of either variant by itself is between one and two percent, if a person get infected with both at the same time, the death rates from beign infected with both will be much higher than before, with the unvaccinated being the most vulnerable.)

President Joe Biden offered a grim prognosis for the coming months of COVID-19 on Thursday, predicting a surge in coronavirus cases and “a winter of severe illness and death” for those not inoculated against the respiratory virus. He urged people who are already vaccinated to get booster shots. “We are looking at a winter of severe illness and death for the unvaccinated—for themselves, their families and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm,” said Biden. “But there’s good news, if you’re vaccinated and you have your booster shot, you’re protected from severe illness and death.”