Weird.. We're seeing the exact opposite in Spain. Deaths from the Omikron wave which infected millions were much lower than the influenza epidemics of recent years.
However vaccination rates here are > 80% (> 60% boosters, and most of the younger people have only been able to get them for the last week or so)
What particularly matters is vaccination rates among the elderly. It's >99% vaccination rate in here Ontario, Canada for those over 70 years of age. Unfortunately some US states barely reach 80% for the same demographic. As far as I can tell that explains most of the difference in mortality since we lost control over the omicron wave.
Yeah, I think this point tends to be missed sometimes. Two countries with the same headline rate, where one has ~universal vaccination of over-65s and the other has 80%, would be expected to have very different death rates.
Also, that does sound a lot like most of the people affected are unvaccinated, in which case I feel it's been their own choice to risk it. Though of course the added health system load is bad for all.
I guess a lot has to do with how you identify death from Covid. It is cynical to state that old people probably always die of other health related reasons, but adding age groups to the statistic would help a lot to asses the danger.
However vaccination rates here are > 80% (> 60% boosters, and most of the younger people have only been able to get them for the last week or so)
Source from a local paper: https://www.elperiodico.com/es/ext_resources/infographics/20...
The Omikron wave is also on a sharp path down here already.