“Will the new and rapidly spreading variant overwhelm the U.S. health-care system? The question is moot because the system is already overwhelmed, in a way that is affecting all patients, COVID or otherwise. ‘The level of care that we’ve come to expect in our hospitals no longer exists.'” Omicron is coming. It’s coming fast. And as The Atlantic’s Ed Yong explains, America Is Not Ready for Omicron.

+ Yong’s analysis matches up with this piece from Umair Irfan in Vox: Omicron may be less risky for each of us — but more risky for all of us.

+ Colleges are moving exams online, France restricts travel from the UK, and more of the latest.