Tyler Cowen, Columnist

Even Mild Omicron Could Create Severe Chaos

The new variant may be less dangerous, but it could still bring enormous disruptions to businesses and schools. 

You could see a lot more of these next month.

Photographer: Hannah Beier/Bloomberg

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While projections for the spread of the omicron variant of Covid-19 remain tentative, it seems to be much more transmissible (almost certain) and more benign (far less certain). It’s not only that more people are vaccinated or have some form of natural immunity, but also that the variant itself may be somewhat less dangerous, even to those hospitalized by it.

With all this in mind, it’s worth thinking about one possible path for the virus over the next few months, to better understand how to cope with it.