Abstract
The omicron strain was a distinctly new chapter in the battle against COVID for Americans. First identified in Botswana/South Africa, Omicron began circulating in the U.S. population in November 2021, gained dominance, and persisted through 2022 and beyond. Omicron was significantly different in its genetics, lethality, infectiousness, and susceptibility to vaccine intervention, when compared with other strains. It was less lethal than d because it had fewer L452R S1 protein mutation, and it had an E484A mutation instead of d‘s E484Q. Both of these changes made the binding site of the S1 protein (tip of the spike protein) more visible to immune system cells. However, omicron was perhaps 2.5 to 3.8 times more intrinsically infectious than d, and was probably almost as infectious as measles. Furthermore, omicron was more contagious because it had mutated out-of-range of the original Trump-era vaccine via 28 other S1 mutations (vaccine escape). Essentially, the virus entered a virgin population in the U.S. This fact, combined with the uncontrolled movement of people within and into the U.S., a population that refuses to accept public health measures, and a generally somnolent response to COVID by the U.S. government, all took their toll on the population. For the d-omicron dominated time interval from Aug. 15, 2021 to June 28, 2022, calculation suggest 54.3% of death (215,428) were due to seasonal temperature related effects, 28.6% (113,383 deaths) were due to domestic travel, and 17.1% (67,860 deaths) were due to medically unscreened migrants entering the U.S.