Just got my (delayed because of a case of shingles) second booster last night, so I'm a little loopy today. If this article has been posted already, please let me know and I'll delete this.
My favorite paragraph in the piece: "In Texas and Florida, SARS-CoV-2 variants caused over 44,000 and 40,000 COVID-19 deaths respectively, more than in any other state. On a per capita basis, West Virginia and Kentucky suffered the highest number of variant deaths, with 229 and 212 deaths per 100,000 people, respectively. The findings likely reflect differences in vaccination coverage, prior immunity, use of non-pharmaceutical interventions, demographics, and social vulnerability."
There's still the question of Omicron var. b4 and b5. They haven't caused excess death in South Africa, but USA conditions are different.
Also the terrible conditions for the poor peasants in North Korea; no vaxxes, no treatments. The WHO has said that is a worry for emergence of new variants.