Even as Ontario began reopening its economy and returning to some semblance of normalcy this year, COVID-19 was wreaking havoc on the lives of older residents — killing them at higher rates than the past two waves, new data shows.

Analysis of death figures by researchers at the University of Toronto provided to the Star shows that since mid-December 2021, Omicron has been more deadly for Ontarians age 60 and over than the previous two waves combined.

And while Omicron may present milder symptoms than previous variants at an individual level, the sheer number of COVID deaths among Ontario seniors since Omicron became dominant — more than 3,700 — challenges the narrative that the worst of the pandemic was over as social gatherings got bigger and capacity limits in restaurants, bars and gyms were lifted.