Such measures honestly should have happened sooner in many jurisdictions. People need to start recognizing that SARS-COV-2 is a long-term presence. As we can see abroad, highly vaccinated countries are not having the same intense hospitalization surge as the US is this Omicron wave.
When we examine vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization it remains high in the face of Omicron.
When we make these political tradeoffs on vaccine policy we are incurring health system burden and the subsequent fallout.
Meanwhile, over in Ukraine..
The Ukrainian deputy minister of health, Ihor Kuzin expects the Omicron wave to begin towards the end of this month, peak in February, and last until April.
We are starting to see the declines in test positivity, cases, and hospitalizations plateau in recent days, so this may be the first signs of Omicron's growing prevalence in Ukraine. It may also be due to the holidays. It will be interesting to monitor.
Ukraine has a low vaccination rate and the booster campaign has only just started. There is likely high population immunity though from prior infection, which will hopefully help keep deaths low during the Omicron wave. However if the US is any indication, Ukraine could be in for a severe February.