On the first part of the prediction – that Omicron would prove effectively unstoppable in the U.S. in 2022 – the data clearly support this. Omicron became the dominant variant by late December 2021, and the BA.1/BA.2/BA.5 waves led to record case counts through much of early and mid‑2022 despite widespread vaccination and prior infection, indicating very high transmissibility and substantial immune escape. The CDC and multiple analyses described Omicron’s rapid spread and near-complete replacement of prior variants across the U.S., consistent with it being effectively ‘unstoppable’ in practice.

On the second part – that this would cause much of the country to shift toward DeSantis‑style, less‑restrictive COVID policies – national policy evolution in 2022–2023 matches that direction:

• By early 2022, many states (including blue states such as New York, New Jersey, California, and others) rapidly lifted indoor mask mandates, school mask mandates, and capacity restrictions, moving toward guidance that emphasized individual risk assessment rather than broad mandates, similar in substance to the approach Florida had already taken under Gov. DeSantis.
• In February–March 2022, numerous Democratic‑led states announced timelines to end mask mandates in schools and public indoor spaces, citing high vaccination rates, Omicron’s ubiquity, and the need to ‘learn to live with the virus’ – a framing that closely resembled the DeSantis/Florida position from 2021.
• The CDC updated its guidance in late February 2022 to “COVID‑19 Community Levels,” which substantially relaxed masking recommendations for most of the country compared with earlier metrics, again moving national guidance toward fewer ongoing restrictions.

While not every jurisdiction copied Florida’s policies exactly, the broad national trend in 2022 was toward lifting mandates and accepting widespread Omicron transmission as unavoidable, which is materially what the prediction claimed would happen.

Because (1) Omicron did in fact spread essentially unchecked across the U.S. in 2022, and (2) the majority of states and federal guidance shifted toward materially less‑restrictive, ‘live with it’ policies that resembled the DeSantis stance more than the stricter 2020–early‑2021 regime, the prediction is best judged as right overall.