I'm a bit confused about the spotty  hospital COVID-19 crises hitting various sites in the USA .  The South African Omicron variant wave seems to be rapidly declining, where those infected seemed not to be so sick, so  hospitals were not challenged .  Best as I can tell, it is more the combination of staffing and supply shortages, plus the sudden onslaught of new cases because Omicron is so contagious. The latest Omicron outbreaks are coming during the winter and holiday periods in the U.S., so the perfect storm of less distancing, fewer masks when in family/friends groups, ability of this Omicron virus strain to quickly attack those who are not fully vaccinated/boosted, and even more so to those unvaccinated, plus the unlucky few who are supposed to be protected, seems to be exacerbating this new peak.  It is summertime in  South Africa , so they were "lucky" to have faced this variant at this time. One bit of good news for the elderly is that in Denmark this  Omnicron v