Could humanity catch a break with omicron?

In the weeks since the omicron variant made its presence known, scientists have braced themselves for yet another nasty surprise from a virus that has killed more than 5.3 million and sickened hundreds of millions more. But as they sort through preliminary data on the strain, they're cautiously considering an unexpected possibility: that with omicron, the coronavirus may finally be cutting humanity a little slack.

There's still plenty of reason to worry: Omicron has spread to at least 77 countries, found its way to at least 35 U.S. states, and is on track to become the dominant strain in Europe by mid-January.

According to a raft of lab tests and where omicron is surging, the variant has cut deeply into the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine's ability to prevent new infections. And compared with