# The Omicron Variant **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [November 29, 2021, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134 "2021-11-29T13:54:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/422 "2022-01-13T08:01:26Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > So looking at hospitalizations, people in ICU, and deaths instead of just “cases”, we can see that in NSW hospitalizations are up on a month ago. People in ICU is up on a month ago. And more people are dying. Do you know if the NSW system makes a distinction between people in hospital/ICU/dying _of_ Covid, versus those in the same situation _with_ Covid? Having clarity on that helps understand the relative seriousness of Omicron. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/423 "2022-01-13T15:46:31Z")
Your local epidemiologist makes the useful point that there are actually three categories. People who are hospitalized primarily due to covid, people hospitalized for something else who are incidentally found to have have covid, and people hospitalized primarily for something else, for whom covid aggravates the problem. She also has some scattered statics about these categories, although this post focuses on pediatric cases. > **[State of Affairs: Pediatrics and Omicron](https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/state-of-affairs-pediatrics-and-omicron?r=zgvzt&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web)** > > Si quiere leer la versión en español, pulse aquí. This is a deep dive into the epidemiology of COVID19 indicators among kids in the wake of Omicron. In this post, I frame the data a little differently to address “numerator thinking” vs. “denominator... Since she says, “this post is public, so feel free to share it”, i am copying the relevant part of today’s post: _ **“For” or “with” COVID19.** _ There has been a lot of public interest in whether children (and adults) are hospitalized “_for COVID19_” or “_with COVID._” While this doesn’t matter for some questions (like, hospital capacity or hospital acquired infection among vulnerable and staff), it’s important for other questions (like, severity of Omicron among kids). In the state of New York, 59% of kids admitted who have COVID 19 are hospitalized _for_ COVID19. Without historic data, it’s hard to know what this means. But it certainly does _ **not** _ mean dismiss the other 41% (hospitalizations “_with_ COVID19”). [Clinicians on the ground](https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/01/for-covid-with-covid-hospitals-are-mess-either-way/621229/) are describing a third category: “COVID19 exacerbating medical conditions.” For example, if a child has diabetes, COVID19 infection significantly complicates the disease and the child is hospitalized. This is very different than a child with a broken bone that happens to test positive. This third category isn’t displayed widely and cannot be ignored. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/424 "2022-01-13T16:29:51Z")
Thanks for that, “it’s complicated” seems to be the general take-away there and I’m not surprised. Figures from the UK today show official cases down 80k over the same day last week (cases are only 57% of what they were last week). That’s a very steep drop when no additional rules are in place. Hospitalisations and numbers in hospital are level and interestingly the ICU numbers are now at their lowest level since mid-October. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/425 "2022-01-13T19:47:35Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > OK, thanks for the clarification. I used to work (pharma industry) with a US based doctor who also did some hours unpaid in a hospital - this would presumably have been in a “not for profit”, then? > [@puzzlegal](#): > > An awful lot of the large, established, urban hospitals are not for profit. For profit hospitals are mostly newer, and mostly targeted suburbs, I think. This. The for profit hospitals aren’t (for the most part) traditional hospitals that take care of everyone. They’re more like surgical centers where say, all the orthopedic surgeons in town admit people to do their knee and hip replacements, the GI doctors do their colonoscopies, the ophthalmologists do their cataract surgeries, and things of that sort. They don’t have emergency rooms, and don’t admit people for illnesses that they aren’t set up to treat (like COVID). ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/426 "2022-01-14T02:54:57Z")
I’m having nasty cold symptoms, very similar to the beginning of my covid infection. I also had a day of gastrointestinal symptoms. It seems so likely to be omicron. But, my daughter was sick first, and she tested negative with a rapid test. My first full day of symptoms, yesterday, I tested with a rapid test, and included swabbing my tonsils. I was also negative. I keep hearing, though, that people test several days in a row, and wind up testing positive after 4 or 5 days of negative results. I don’t have enough rapid tests to do it daily, but I plan to do it again in a few days. It’s really disconcerting to not know if the tests are accurate or not. I could try to get a PCR test, but if it’s positive, it could just be residual because of my prior infection. I wish we would start seeing some testing adjustments to omicron, but I know it’s too soon to expect. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/427 "2022-01-15T03:01:45Z")
I went through the same thing: runny nose, gastric issues, tiredness, cough… And tested negative. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/428 "2022-01-18T13:19:40Z")
From Katelyn jetelina, “your local epidemiologist” > **[State of Affairs: Jan 18](https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/state-of-affairs-jan-18?r=zgvzt&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web)** > > Last week the World Health Organization reported more than 15 million cases of COVID19, which is so high that they had to change the y-axis scale of their epi curve. During the WHO press conference, one advisor said, “ (The emailed version ends: “This post is public, please feel free to share it”, so I’ve included a long excerpt here.) 31 states are reporting hospitalization rates higher than previous winter. Washington, D.C. is just hammered with hospitalizations at 308% of last winter’s hospitalizations, equating to [128](https://email.mg1.substack.com/c/eJwlUEFuhDAMfM3mVkRMIOwhh176DRQSw7oNCSIOK_r6ZruSZcseWzMeZxnXdFxmT5nFK0187WgiPnNAZjxEyXhM5E1_77XqQQpvWg1Oz4LytByIm6VgxF7mQM4ypfjahlGCvIuHkUuvOj2DGt3cdfLuhmHw6HHWdtHe6TepLZ4wOjR44nGliCKYB_Oeb93nDb5qPJ_PJl5MG-bGpa1OKFZ51jGdWDtoQdZSck0uneQ_nM1198FbEGQqDK2UVRUM0DXQOG3d7H3bSqf8MIzN-fNNWf3uN9Vuq2xymTNb9_MiE4fJXJalQitFb5uSX_9OFdpKJL4mjHYO6A0fBQW_3fw3ZloxVpWMfrJs5KCgb0d9H1sY3p9Xr5QGBeMIonL6VK-iuVI5QnI24E4eN0ohrZT5DwZVkpY) per 100,000 residents being hospitalized for COVID19. This is followed by Delaware (70 per 100K), New Jersey (70 per 100,000), New York (68 per 100K), and Pennsylvania (63 per 100K). Thankfully, though, it looks like hospitalizations in these states are slowing down and will be on the descent soon. There are [two states and 618 counties](https://email.mg1.substack.com/c/eJwlkEGShCAMRU_TLC1EBF2wmM1cw0KImm4FC0JPO6cferoqlUV-Uj__OUuwxnSZM2Zi7zbRdYIJ8JN3IILESoY0oTf92GvZi5Z5w7VwemaYpyUBHBZ3w84y7-gsYQzvbTG0oh3ZZmDpB4CO-84Oqh-91Np66OUsF8W94h9TWzxCcGDgCemKAdhuNqIz37qvm_iuZXd42eAh3V9ug9CsSFuZG4xVc5hcQZoT2AekOmBoBBeCt219QyjRNaJx2rrZe85bJ71SQ_N83DHL3_Mm-bG2TS5zJusejYsHSyZTWZYqrRi8bUp-B5yqdJSAdE0Q7LyDN5QKMPrg-ycxrRAgVax-smRaJUXPBz0OXKhP1ApHaiHFMAhWPX2sV8FcsaQ9upryRA8Hxj2umOkPWzqOYQ) that require [circuit breakers](https://email.mg1.substack.com/c/eJwlkU2O5CAMhU9T7IiAIj-1YNGbvkZEwJV4ikAEprozpx8yJSEL6dm85w9nCdaUT3OkQuwqM50HmAg_JQARZFYL5Bm96R_9qHslmTdiVG5cGJb5mQF2i8Gwoy4BnSVM8epWk1TywTbTeztq5_zgBynsOD2EBK_HCQartNb-Y2qrR4gODLwhnykCC2YjOsrt_nVT3-1gLOhhB48OI3RLDS0fxs6lvam0AU87upwiP4KN3GF2FYkvGewLcuE2ep5aW-ZlS5l4W23nhfIFAKFwSnwF4rXdtpzquvHrzQi_xH_sG5oHQ6OEUkLKtpsa1L1TnRutW7wXQjrth2Hq3q8_WPTf46bFvsqu1KWQda8rJsumUH0-m7Ri9Lar5aI2N2mvEemcIdolgDeUKzD6_Ml_vPMKEa6ofrZk5KBVL6bxMQk1fPg14npUWk2TYs3TpzYVzZlqDsnZAMfFDlNIKxb6B3GFrk0) (i.e. short-term mitigation measures needed to preserve hospital functioning) at this point because their hospitals are at or above 100% capacity (assuming that the number of staffed beds has not increased in the past week). Medical military personnel have already been dispatched to a number of hospitals across the nation. Nebraska also joined a short list of states that have enacted its Crisis Standards of Care plan. But community-wide efforts to reduce spread desperately need to be taken, too. Fourteen additional states are at high risk of exceeding 100% hospital capacity in the next 1-10 days. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/429 "2022-01-18T13:29:45Z")
I thought today’s ^ provided a good summary. The basic newsletter is free and well-written. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/430 "2022-01-19T13:19:07Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > Dec 3: 306 > Dec 11: 485 > Dec 12: 586 > Dec 13: 804 > Dec 14: 1360 > Dec 15: 1742 (Exceeded the previous highest amount of cases) > Dec 16: 2213 (192 cases admitted to hospital, 26 in ICU) > Dec 17: 2482 (215 cases admitted to hospital, 24 in ICU) > Dec 18: 2566 (206 cases admitted to hospital, 26 in ICU) > Dec 19: 2501 (227 cases admitted to hospital, 28 in ICU) > Dec 20: 2482 (261 cases admitted to hospital, 33 in ICU) > Dec 21: 3033 (284 cases admitted to hospital, 39 in ICU) > Dec 22: 3763 (302 cases admitted to hospital, 40 in ICU) > Dec 23: 5715 (347 cases admitted to hospital, 45 in ICU) > Jan 4th: 23,131 cases, 2 deaths (1,344 cases admitted to hospital, 105 in ICU) > Jan 5th: 35,054 cases, 8 deaths (1491 cases admitted to hospital, 119 in ICU) > Jan 6th: 34,994 cases, 6 deaths (1609 in hospital, 131 in ICU) > Jan 7th: 38,625 cases, 11 deaths (1738 in hospital, 134 in ICU) > Jan 8th: 45,098 cases, 9 deaths (1795 in hospital, 145 in iCU) > Jan 9th: 30,062 cases, 16 deaths (1927 in hospital, 151 in ICU) > Jan 10th: 20,293 cases, 18 deaths (2,030 in hospital, 159 in ICU) > Jan 11th: 25,870 cases, 11 deaths (2,186 in hospital, 170 in ICU) > Jan 12th: 34,759 cases, 21 deaths (2242 in hospital, 175 in ICU) > Jan 13th: 92,264 cases, 22 deaths (2383 in hospital, 182 in ICU) **…latest round of updates:** Jan 14th: 63,018 cases, 29 deaths (2525 in hospital, 184 in ICU) Jan 15th: 48,768 cases, 20 deaths (2576 in hospital, 193 in ICU) Jan 16th: 34,660 cases, 20 deaths (2650 in hospital, 191 in ICU) Jan 17th: 29,504 cases, 17 deaths (2776 in hospital, 203 in ICU) Jan 18th: 29,830 cases, 36 deaths (2850 in hospital, 209 in ICU) Jan 19th: 32,297 cases, 32 deaths (2863 in hospital, 217 in ICU) Cases are all over the place, largely due to the change in reporting, but seems to be settling at around about 30,000 per day. Hospitalizations and people in ICU have been trending up from the beginning, and sadly deaths are trending up as well. Total deaths in Australia were 77 today: the biggest number since the start of the pandemic. In Victoria, they have declared “Code Brown.” This means a “redeployment of staff, cancelled leave, ready private hospitals, defer non-urgent cases.” ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/431 "2022-01-20T21:58:28Z")
More not-so-good news about Omicron, It is probably has a longer tail of infectiousness than has been assumed (notably, 5 days of isolation probably isn’t enough). [How does Omicron spread so fast? A high viral load isn’t the answer (nature.com)](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00129-z) > In countries around the world, Omicron has rapidly surged past other variants to become the dominant SARS-CoV-2 strain. Now, two studies show that the variant has achieved success despite causing viral levels in the body that are similar to — or lower than — those of its main competitor, [the Delta variant](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02187-1) ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/432 "2022-01-21T01:46:04Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > More not-so-good news about Omicron, It is probably has a longer tail of infectiousness than has been assumed (notably, 5 days of isolation probably isn’t enough). …in NZ we reduced our isolation period to 7 days back in November for Delta. But we recently extended it back to 10 days once bit became clear how infectious the variant was. Well just now we’ve extended the isolation period back to 14 days. We’ve had a few cases that weren’t picked up until day 11 or 12. So even 10 days wasn’t enough. 5 days was always utter madness, driven by a need to not let essential services and the economy fall over. > **[Covid-19: Isolation period for cases, close contacts extended due to Omicron](https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300501129/covid19-isolation-period-for-cases-close-contacts-extended-due-to-omicron)** > > Those with Covid-19 must now isolate for 14 days instead of 10 due to the increased infectiousness of Omicron. We are waiting to get hit by an Omicron outbreak. It will be interesting to compare our numbers with NSW when it eventually happens. We still have significant NPI’s in place while NSW abandoned pretty much everything in December. (Bringing many of them back once it became clear that the outbreak was getting out of control) They had 46 deaths today ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2022, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/433 "2022-01-22T07:26:03Z")
My son went to school for only one day after the holiday break. He was exposed to Omicron (in all likelihood) and the 4 of us all have confirmed cases of COVID. It has been 2 weeks since I became symptomatic and I am still testing as infectious. I suspect they need to extend the isolation period past 14 days. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2022, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/434 "2022-01-22T07:48:23Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I suspect they need to extend the isolation period past 14 days. The problem with such long isolation periods is that they cause huge problems with staff shortages in areas where omicron is in wide circulation. The trend has actually been to _shorten_ the period in such countries. Does it mean that you get more spread than if you imposed 14 days+ ? it does, but it is a balancing act. Taking millions out of the workforce for long periods has consequences. The reduction/removal of isolation requirements is just another step on the path to the inevitability of treating of Covid as just another disease that we live with. We can’t stop it, we can only delay the spread but it’ll find everyone and expose them eventually. Only China among major nations remains comitted to a policy of “zero covid” and that is only made possible through the most draconian measures imaginable and even those will not be successful nor ultimately sustainable. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2022, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/435 "2022-01-22T11:25:08Z")
> **[Charting an Omicron Infection (Published 2022)](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/01/22/science/charting-omicron-infection.html)** > > Following the course of a typical Omicron infection. > Scientists have been working overtime to study Omicron. Many questions remain unanswered, but here’s what they’ve learned so far. [![](https://i.ibb.co/YkwcdKT/omicron7.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/YkwcdKT/omicron7.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2022, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/436 "2022-01-22T23:08:06Z")
The article is behind a paywall. Can you quote or summarize what made you want to post it? ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/437 "2022-01-23T15:59:31Z")
Here’s a gifted link, I believe it will work for two weeks. > **[Charting an Omicron Infection (Published 2022)](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/01/22/science/charting-omicron-infection.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUyYiZ_tU1Gw5CRWySB4B99Fre3L-VmvsnjX7zKiOYDj1Cxv4JAo6PvkDIZKF5YN123jKVSdRdMbgpAvxuy-sVd2pcdz6VmLrW0pIUP3dy7oO1Qm4s1pnRXK41tmOxNTPicrgjgbbltE3DbTHoCriMhnIhOApk8pIzcw783n0MlrzXUbIggqkI1vYqAJ9-QD8LdXPK66GuU0MiTY3AOhLM6QA2WPVbWSXTn7Of77EHeQZUDjHWXS81oDZ8uJ4HZoRhbOuoJAUgecH-nbwRFmVsSY-uDJE7TIXQ_K54slvFUZWCmmOGbwORcDp-Rw&smid=url-share)** > > Following the course of a typical Omicron infection. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/438 "2022-01-23T16:04:25Z")
Isn’t the main take-away from that chart that once symptoms clear (or actually slightly before), you’re no longer infectious? Interesting choice to present those charts in a marker-on-a-white-board freehand manner. Maybe it’s perceived as “friendlier” or easier to understand? ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/439 "2022-01-23T16:43:11Z")
Interesting article. Thanks @GreenWyvern, @Ann_Hedonia. j ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/440 "2022-01-23T17:37:13Z")
IFAICT, the biggest differences between profit and non-profit hospitals are their tax status (non-profit hospitals are tax exempt) and the ability to solicit charitable tax deductible donations to fund their work. Non-profit hospitals aren’t charity hospitals and, while they may offer a range of financial assistance programs, their patients are expected to pay. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that most hospitals in the US are non-profit. I just checked the status of three of the largest healthcare systems operating in NYC (Northwell Health, NYU Langone, and Mt Sinai) and they are all non-profits. Just because they are non-profit that doesn’t mean they can’t pay their executives and officers hefty salaries, it doesn’t mean people can’t get rich off them and it doesn’t mean they aren’t price gouging. It is, IMHO, the reason these systems are becoming behemoths, building new specialty hospitals and medical centers at a rapid pace - as they are required to plow all “profits” from their existing operations back into the business. As it was mentioned upthread, private hospitals tend to be smaller, specialized operations, frequently owned and operated by groups of medical professionals that are also investors. But they are the exception, not the rule - the financial incentives strongly favor non-profit hospitals, so most of them are. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/441 "2022-01-23T19:13:39Z")
Thanks! Interesting article. A lot of questions without answers, unfortunately. Like whether the infectious period for Omicron is really short enough to justify the new shorter isolation period. And if testing out of isolation with a rapid test makes sense when rapid tests are so much less sensitive to Omicron. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134.md?page=23)