Basically agreed, but to me whether "new infections" matters or not hinges on the long-term effects of these different variants in vaccinated people. What's the prevalence of "long COVID" if you're vaccinated? If you're vaccinated and boosted? Is there evidence of any more or less lasting lung damage in chest X-rays than in unvaccinated people?

Hospitalization matters for short-term policy, but long-term damage could end up affecting long-term healthcare policy even more in the coming decades