How to live with Omicron

The Omicron variant spreads so quickly and generally causes such a mild form of illness among vaccinated populations that countries are tolerating greater Covid-19 outbreaks, willingly letting infections balloon to levels that not long ago would have constituted public-health crises.

From different starting points, authorities in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific are moving in the same direction, offering a glimpse into a future in which the pandemic crisis becomes a fact of everyday life, like seasonal flu.

Health officials everywhere, many for the first time, are forgoing some of the sharpest tools they have to combat Omicron—even as infections soar. They are letting the virus in like never before to minimize disruptions to economies, education and everyday life.