Your Weekend Reading: America’s Troubling Omicron Disconnect

Just when it seemed Americans could start half-thinking about a return to normalcy, the omicron variant presented an unpleasant dose of reality. But while chief executives are putting return-to-office plans on hold, many people are still packing into restaurants and attending big events, creating an uncomfortable disconnect. As the new winter wave of infections gathers steam, U.S. hospitals are again being pushed to the brink. Part of the problem is anti-vaxxers, but they’re not just rural conservatives—in almost half of U.S. states, Black and Hispanic inoculation rates trail those of Whites by at least 10 percentage points. In the face of a coming viral storm, President Joe Biden has been urging all Americans that it’s “past time” to get shots.

Across the Atlantic, London is pretty much a ghost town as U.K. infection numbers skyrocket. But comparing the British approach to Covid-19 with that of the U.S. doesn't work, John Authers writes in Bloomberg Opinion; Brits are blaming the misery on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s missteps.