> but at the very least they're more transmissible. The "more transmissible" may be partially confounded by novelty. E.g. what's influenza's R0 in an immunolo

> but at the very least they're more transmissible. The "more transmissible" may be partially confounded by novelty. E.g. what's influenza's R0 in an immunologically naive population? Who knows. Vaccination doesn't fully answer what the equilibrium transmissibility will be. either, because there's things like mucosal immunity. > I think omicron is seen as less severe because so many people have had at least one shot of the vaccine. So far the (weak) evidence we have points to both: - A somewhat lower severity of infection from omicron than delta regardless of vaccination status. - Moderate protection against severe disease from a 2 shot mRNA vaccine series, and pretty good protection against severe disease after a recent 3rd booster shot. So, that is, it's not one or the other, it's both: Omicron is probably less severe overall and has its severity reduced further by vaccination.