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The "mask" has been a very divisive issue.
From the very beginning of the pandemic, a small minority believed the "mask" was an imposition upon their freedom. Fortunately, the majority followed the advice of the scientists and the CDC to prevent the pandemic from spreading further.
Although the Covid is still with us, it is not as deadly as it was in the beginning. Fewer and fewer people are being hospitalized for it. Most are now ready to accept it as a seasonal virus, much like the flu.
Is it finally time to do away with mask mandates? And leave it to the discretion of the individual whether or not they choose to wear one?
And finally do away with one of the major issues dividing this nation?
Responsible people did what had to be done. They tried to prevent themselves and others from catching the deadly virus. They followed the advice of experts.
If some wish to see doing away with masks as some sort of victory, after all these months, then let them have their victory. Almost a million lives will not be celebrating.
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And by the way well over 1/2 those million lives were hard MAGA voters and Trumpholes, if the r/HermanCainAward is any indication. They would probably be cheerleading this decision. 
Fewer and fewer people are being hospitalized for it.
The last Omicron (BA1.xxx) wave between November 2021 - February 2022 blew away all records for numbers of cases and hospitalizations.
Here is a plot of the "hospitalizations" from CDC's website here - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html
From the above plot where a red line is drawn across the plot to show the (peak) highest values for hospitalizations, how were their "fewer and fewer people being hospitalized" - especially when comparing the earlier waves with the last wave (which was due to the initial Omicron variant)??
U.S. breaks COVID-19 hospitalization record at over 132,000 as Omicron surges
By Maria Caspani and Lisa Shumaker
Jan 10 (Reuters) - COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States reached a record high on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, as a surge in infections caused by the highly contagious Omicron variant strains health systems in several states. There were 132,646 people hospitalized with COVID, surpassing the record of 132,051 set in January last year.
Hospitalizations have increased steadily since late December, doubling in the last three weeks, as Omicron quickly overtook Delta as the dominant version of the virus in the United States. Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin have reported record levels of hospitalized COVID-19 patients recently, according to the Reuters analysis.
While potentially less severe, health officials have warned that the sheer number of infections caused by the Omicron variant could strain the hospital systems, some of which have already suspended elective procedures as they struggle to handle the surge of patients amid staff shortages.
The seven-day average for new cases has doubled in the last 10 days to 704,000. The United States has averaged over a half a million cases for the last six consecutive days, according to a Reuters tally.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-breaks-covid-19-hospitalization-record-omicron-surges-2022-01-10/
By Maria Caspani and Lisa Shumaker
Jan 10 (Reuters) - COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States reached a record high on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, as a surge in infections caused by the highly contagious Omicron variant strains health systems in several states. There were 132,646 people hospitalized with COVID, surpassing the record of 132,051 set in January last year.
Hospitalizations have increased steadily since late December, doubling in the last three weeks, as Omicron quickly overtook Delta as the dominant version of the virus in the United States. Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin have reported record levels of hospitalized COVID-19 patients recently, according to the Reuters analysis.
While potentially less severe, health officials have warned that the sheer number of infections caused by the Omicron variant could strain the hospital systems, some of which have already suspended elective procedures as they struggle to handle the surge of patients amid staff shortages.
The seven-day average for new cases has doubled in the last 10 days to 704,000. The United States has averaged over a half a million cases for the last six consecutive days, according to a Reuters tally.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-breaks-covid-19-hospitalization-record-omicron-surges-2022-01-10/
And it was recently reported when the data from that wave was reviewed, the hospitalizations of children not eligible for a vaccine, increased to some 5 - 7 times more than what was seen during previous variants -
Omicron Increased COVID Hospitalizations Among Young Children: CDC
By Carolyn Crist
March 16, 2022 -- The Omicron variant led to higher COVID hospitalizations among children ages 4 and younger in the U.S. -- at a rate that was five times higher than during the peak of the Delta variant, according to a new study released by the CDC. Infants under 6 months had the highest rates of hospitalization, the data showed. Importantly, the CDC noted, this age group isn’t yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.
“Important strategies to prevent COVID-19 among infants and young children include vaccination of currently eligible populations such as pregnant women, family members, and caregivers of infants and young children,” the research team wrote. The CDC team analyzed trends in coronavirus hospitalizations among young children who had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 during hospitalization or in the 14 days before admission. The report is based on data from 99 counties in 14 states.
During the Omicron surge from December 2021 to February 2022, the COVID-19 hospitalization rate peaked at 14.5 hospitalizations per 100,000 children younger than 4 in early January 2022. In comparison, the rate peaked at 2.9 hospitalizations per 100,000 children in September 2021 during the Delta variant surge.
What’s more, monthly intensive care unit admission rates were about 3.5 times higher for young children during the Omicron peak, the data showed. In January, there were 10.6 ICU admissions per 100,000 children younger than 4, compared with 3 admissions per 100,000 children in September. Among the children hospitalized during the Omicron surge, 63% had no medical conditions that increased their risk for severe COVID-19, the CDC researchers wrote.
(snip)
https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20220316/omicron-increased-hospitalizations-children-cdc
By Carolyn Crist
March 16, 2022 -- The Omicron variant led to higher COVID hospitalizations among children ages 4 and younger in the U.S. -- at a rate that was five times higher than during the peak of the Delta variant, according to a new study released by the CDC. Infants under 6 months had the highest rates of hospitalization, the data showed. Importantly, the CDC noted, this age group isn’t yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.
“Important strategies to prevent COVID-19 among infants and young children include vaccination of currently eligible populations such as pregnant women, family members, and caregivers of infants and young children,” the research team wrote. The CDC team analyzed trends in coronavirus hospitalizations among young children who had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 during hospitalization or in the 14 days before admission. The report is based on data from 99 counties in 14 states.
During the Omicron surge from December 2021 to February 2022, the COVID-19 hospitalization rate peaked at 14.5 hospitalizations per 100,000 children younger than 4 in early January 2022. In comparison, the rate peaked at 2.9 hospitalizations per 100,000 children in September 2021 during the Delta variant surge.
What’s more, monthly intensive care unit admission rates were about 3.5 times higher for young children during the Omicron peak, the data showed. In January, there were 10.6 ICU admissions per 100,000 children younger than 4, compared with 3 admissions per 100,000 children in September. Among the children hospitalized during the Omicron surge, 63% had no medical conditions that increased their risk for severe COVID-19, the CDC researchers wrote.
(snip)
https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20220316/omicron-increased-hospitalizations-children-cdc
The main things really "different" about Omicron was where it tended to attach to start reproducing, and the fact that it came in fast and left fast (at least that variant) and that is because it had evolved the ability to reproduce much much faster than previous variants. I.e., it could take the original "wild type" SARS CoV2 upwards of 10 - 14 days to get going (which was why the earliest quarantine period was 2 weeks). The later variants (Alpha - that was predominate here and Beta, that was predominate in other parts of the world) could go through its cycle within 7 - 10 days. Delta was even faster, getting established within 3 - 5 days. And with Omicron, it was up and running in 2-3 days after infection.
When it came to deaths - THAT is where you saw a difference thanks to the vaccines (plot again from CDC's site - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html) -
But because Omicron was so much more contagious than any previous variant, there were MORE people infected during that wave, regardless of vaccine status, than in any previous wave (it "broke records" according to W.H.O. and others monitoring it). That then exhibited what they call a "multiplier effect" where "everything" goes up (raw numbers of moderate-severe disease, hospitalizations, and in some cases, deaths) just due to the sheer amount of infections compared to previous waves.