From Paul Sax’s HIV and ID Observations blog:

“What I’m about to write does not in any way to diminish how awful the pandemic is right now for just about everyone. But looking at the evidence and clinical experience on severity, I’m going to poke the beast and conclude that Omicron does appear milder.”

His post and corroborating data here.

Fingers crossed it really is the case, and that Omicron can outcompete any new more virulent variants that might appear.