As the heavily mutated Omicron variant rips across South Africa at an astonishing rate — likely because it’s better at causing reinfections and breakthrough cases than any previous version of the coronavirus — anxious observers in the U.S. and elsewhere have been reassured this week by some better-than-expected news.

First, as the New York Times noted Tuesday, “there are early indications that Omicron may cause less serious illness than other forms of the virus,” including a report from researchers at a major hospital complex in Pretoria, South Africa, about how COVID-19 patients there “are much less sick than those they have treated before,” as well as supporting testimony from “other