> Collectively, hospitals have overflowed... This bears repeating every time this gets mentioned: In the US, even before the pandemic, it was "standard" for I

> Collectively, hospitals have overflowed... This bears repeating every time this gets mentioned: In the US, even before the pandemic, it was "standard" for ICUs at most level 1 trauma centers and tertiary care facilities to operate at 80-90% capacity[1] and for ERs to be overwhelmed by patients in bad flu years[2]. SARS-CoV-2 is basically already an endemic virus, just like influenza, and in the near-term it is absolutely unrealistic to expect that somehow miraculously unlike influenza, it won't have a material impact on hospital utilization rates. [1] https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/patient-flow/2-healthcare-leaders-talk-icu-capacity-5-sound-bites.html https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/patient-flow/2-healthc... [2] https://time.com/5107984/hospitals-handling-burden-flu-patients/ https://time.com/5107984/hospitals-handling-burden-flu-patie...