New Omicron variant stokes world fears; triggers travel bans

If it's already in Belgium, Israel, and Hong Kong, it's too late to contain. Get vaccinated and wear a mask. Good luck.

Even though some of the genetic changes appear worrisome, it was unclear how much of a public health threat it posed

So far nobody knows much about the new variant.

Yesterdays article here also said it is unclear if the vaccine is effective against this new variant.

As long as nobody knows anything clear:

Keep your borders closed Japan!

International travel is the virus best friend. If this new variant is more contagious and vaccine resistant, there is no end in site as long as people keep traveling. ;-(

Such ineptitude and lack of common sense by “leaders”.

Especially those 'leaders' who've been able to use their positions and their media to convince their followers the virus is a plot to take away their self-proclaimed 'freedom' to sicken others, or that it's just a hoax. That all their followers have to do is take some ointment created to treat worms in animals and they'll be free to go pass the virus on to others. Among these followers are those who actually believe it's alien reptiles who are in charge, and that aliens flying in UFO's have fired lasers to start forest fires.

"Omicron"... the virus is now a Superhero comic book character.

"Omicron? Omigod!"

-17 year old TikTok influencer with 100x more followers than Doctor Fauci

This is one of the consequences of the inequity in vaccine rollouts and why the grabbing of surplus vaccines by richer countries will inevitably rebound on us all at some point

Improving the vaccination rates on developing countries is something extremely important that should have been done long ago, but governments get more political points by hoarding vaccines even if this increases the risks of variants appearing in places with low vaccination rates and huge number of cases.

Yesterdays article here also said it is unclear if the vaccine is effective against this new variant.

It is unclear if any kind of previous immunity is effective, not just from vaccination. Reinfection is mentioned in the article as a risk that appears more important than with other variants.

Poor HK. They can't seem to catch a break. Jjust when they though they could finally open up again, they get this news. The mainland is probably gonna bring down the hammer again.

Southern Africa should have been ring-fenced the instant this thing was confirmed, as in a few days ago. No flights, no ships, nothing.

Only last week LUNATIICS by the thousands were still fighting their governments and demonstrating against the vaccines!!?

Some people you just can't ever please.

Some experts said the variant's emergence illustrated how rich countries’ hoarding of vaccines threatens to prolong the pandemic.

Health experts around the world have been warning about this for over a year and the leaders didn't listen. If anything good can come out of this worrying variant it is the realization that we are all in this together, and that vaccine hoarding needs to stop. And while trying to convince anti-vaxers to take the vaccines is good, a far more important thing is getting people in the developing world more vaccines and access to them. If the developed world does not help the developing world get vaccinated the pandemic will be prolonged AND supply chains will be further disrupted. We are all interconnected, for better or worse. We either all sink or swim together.

Lets hope this variant can teach us that.

Are all the anti vaxers really going to deny the science? You people were warned this could happen if the virus spreads across an unvaccinated population. Get vaccinated. It's not going to kill you but covid could!

Oil down 12%!? GOOD, but now watch all the GREEDY traders on wall street and other markets cash in on peoples fear and anxiety.

By hoarding vaccines in developed countries the “vaccinate all down to children in the womb crowd” are reaping what they have sown! The inequities between developed countries and developing are stark! Vaccinating children who are not at risk of dying from this virus instead of vulnerable cohorts in developing countries is a blight on the human conscience! But watch how all the vaccinate the kiddies brigade try to blame the “anti-vaxxers”…

South Africa isn't 40% vaccinated, it's just under 24%.

In light of this, I wonder if the government will move up its ridiculously late timeline(late February at the earliest!) for vaccinating 5-11 year olds.

cmon you greasy old men in the health ministry. This isn’t just about you

Hopefully, the vaccines will still provide powerful protection against the new variant. Dr. Scott Gottlieb (former FDA commissioner and Pfizer board member) suggested they would.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/dr-gottlieb-the-vaccines-might-be-sufficient-to-control-spread-of-new-covid-variant/vi-AARaYL9

Your prospects for entering Japan on a tourist visa just went from 2023 to 2024.

I think it's too late to stop most of the spread. That's just wishful thinking for public consumption.

Let's see what we learn about it in the near future. If we're lucky, the current vaccines will help.

I worry about healthcare systems in some places collapsing from the unwilling-to-be-vaccinated. They're healthcare thieves taking the beds and care that the responsible people should have.

Hopefully, the vaccines will still provide powerful protection against the new variant. Dr. Scott Gottlieb (former FDA commissioner and Pfizer board member) suggested they would.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/dr-gottlieb-the-vaccines-might-be-sufficient-to-control-spread-of-new-covid-variant/vi-AARaYL9

The experience of Singapore (among others) proves after a few months they offer no protection at best. Unless they protect one from coronavirus by killing them before the virus has a chance to infect them.

https://www.opindia.com/2021/11/mrna-covid-19-vaccines-increase-possibility-of-coronary-diseases-study/

However, the researchers have decided not to publish their findings, as they are concerned about losing money from the drug industry, alleged the doctor on GB News.

This censorship is costing lives! When this is over, I think the censors should and hope they will face criminal prosecution.

Here we go again.

Mankind against nature abominated (or just 'evolving') from mankind's use of the planet. Nature caused by man? I'll go with the opposite theory - Mother Nature wins.

By, y'all.

The WHO suggested omicron could pose greater risks than delta, which is the world’s most prevalent variant and has fueled relentless waves of infection on every continent.

Counting down towards Omega.

This is the reason why the GoTo hotel owner and travel agency subsidy and cutting of enhanced unemployment benefits to address a "worker shortage" are so foolish.

It is asking people for little pay to risk their lives in customer facing businesses with little pay, risking their health and also highly likely to have their job disappear if the variant prompts lockdowns/economic slowdowns.

But the precarious "free market" of employment is too lucrative for capital holders.

Jeff Lee, I was thinking the same thing about isolating South Africa, forcing them to close their borders, but I don't think it is legal or enforceable. But there must be tighter restrictions on anybody leaving the country. Also as Mark said, oil is down 12%, let's see how long it takes for the prices at the pump to go down. They skyrocketed when WTI jumped up now lets see them fall the same, but that will never happen!

Why did W.H.O. skip the "Xi" variant?

Hopefully, the vaccines will still provide powerful protection against the new variant. Dr. Scott Gottlieb (former FDA commissioner and Pfizer board member) suggested they would.

We all share this hope...the whole world hopes that too.

So lets wait and see.

And if the current vaccine protects us from that new varriant, this news will dissapear into nowhere.

Same like Mu, Mui, Mug...or whatever the name of that varriant was.

It's time the world Leaders to send the bill to china.

china started this mess and nobody deserves to clean up.

Why did W.H.O. skip the "Xi" variant?

They are using the Greek alphabet. China doesn't have an alphabet.

Why did W.H.O. skip the "Xi" variant?

That should have been the name of the original Wuhan strain.

They are using the Greek alphabet. China doesn't have an alphabet.

Xi (uppercase Ξ or Ξ, lowercase ξ; Greek: ξι) is the 14th letter of the Greek alphabet. It is pronounced [ksi] in Modern Greek, and generally /zaɪ/ or /ksaɪ/ in English.[1] In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 60. Xi was derived from the Phoenician letter samekh 

.Xi (letter) - Wikipedia

DW News on Omicron variant.

New COVID-19 variant: How dangerous is Omicron? | DW News - YouTube

Especially those 'leaders' who've been able to use their positions and their media to convince their followers the virus is a plot to take away their self-proclaimed 'freedom' to sicken others, or that it's just a hoax.

I don’t think you can definitively prove that.

That all their followers have to do is take some ointment created to treat worms in animals and they'll be free to go pass the virus on to others. *

I agree I think that is stupid as well, but when the general public cannot get the questions answered about this virus, people are going to find The answers somewhere else and then this is how you create conspiracy theories and distrust of the government. Now with this new strand of variant, you don’t know anything, but what we do now and what the world wants is for the government to come clean and be completely transparent as possible, hasn’t happened so far entirely and going forward any confusion should be addressed, no matter what.

Among these followers are those who actually believe it's alien reptiles who are in charge, and that aliens flying in UFO's have fired lasers to start forest fires.

There might be a few people that think like that, rare but that kind of crazy thinking is universal.

Xi (uppercase Ξ or Ξ, lowercase ξ; Greek: ξι) is the 14th letter of the Greek alphabet. It is pronounced [ksi] in Modern Greek, and generally /zaɪ/ or /ksaɪ/ in English.[1] In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 60. Xi was derived from the Phoenician letter samekh 

.Xi (letter) - Wikipedia

I see. So I wonder if the WHO will reach the "Xi variant" in order for Big Pharma to make excuses for the lack of efficacy of their dud concoctions.

Why did they choose Omikron skipping out all the other Greek letters in between?

How do they determine if it’s a new type of strain? The PCR text doesn’t test for a specific virus!

Incorrect. This mutation is easily detectable by PCR.

“De Oliveira insisted that just because it was first detected in South Africa, doesn't mean that's where it originated.

He added that "one bit of good news" about the variant is that it can be detected by a particular PCR test, meaning it can be detected quickly, helping scientists to track the spread.”

https://www.euronews.com/next/amp/2021/11/25/what-we-know-so-far-about-the-b-1-1-529-covid-variant-causing-concern-in-south-africa

It's time the world Leaders to send the bill to china.

china started this mess and nobody deserves to clean up.

I agree completely, but none of these current leaders will ever step up to China or say anything to condemn them or hold them accountable.

“Goodbye” and “Good Luck”, @TrevorPeace 8:14am. Perhaps best start that much-boasted 3 months in the Caribbean early?: “New Omicron variant stokes world fears; triggers travel bans”

*- @TrevorPeace 8:14am: “Mankind against nature (or just 'evolving') from mankind's use of the planet…- Mother Nature wins. - “ By, y'all.” - *

Why did W.H.O. skip the "Xi" variant?

Actually, this latest variant should have been "Nu" (the letter after "Mu"), but it probably would have been confusing since it sounds like "new".

And "Xi" was skipped since Xi should be ignored.

I see. So I wonder if the WHO will reach the "Xi variant" in order for Big Pharma to make excuses for the lack of efficacy of their dud concoctions.

That's a different argument. I'm not going to waste my time with anti vaxers or conspiracy theorists trying to convince them that the vaccines are a good thing. I'm simply trying to explain to you that Xi is in fact a letter in the greek alphabet. That's ALL

With reference to the suggestion that South Africa be isolated, may be they should have done that with China and saved millions of lives?

Certainly all travel from any country affected by the variant should be completely banned.

This censorship is costing lives! When this is over, I think the censors should and hope they will face criminal prosecution.

So people push for baseless conclusions that contradict what the scientific community found all over the world, and when asked to provide proof they use bad excuses that make no sense (why to say something that supposedly is detrimental to them in the first place if they don't want to say something detrimental?)

If your argument is completely based on unproved conspiracies that involve the whole scientific and medical world then it is unreasonable to expect other people to believe them.

I agree I think that is stupid as well, but when the general public cannot get the questions answered about this virus, people are going to find The answers somewhere else and then this is how you create conspiracy theories and distrust of the government.

That is a terribly bad excuse to defend the use of lies and falsehoods, there is nothing wrong with removing those from the answers people can get, if people refuse to believe truthful answers then they will keep looking for false ones to reinforce their bias and prejudice no matter what you do.

It’s the vaccinated who are getting sick and spreading this. The individuals who caught this so called new variant in Africa where fully vaccinated.

Any source for this? because that has not been included in the information released anywhere, specially with the very low vaccination rate mentioned in the article and the explicit inclusion of reinfection as one of the increased risks, this would mean people that were not vaccinated but had the infection before and that were again infected by this variant.

It is not like you pulled this out of thin air and expect people just to believe you, right?

How do they determine if it’s a new type of strain? The PCR text doesn’t test for a specific virus!

Anybody with any experience with pathogens would know that full sequencing of a pathogen like SARS-CoV-2 at this point is easy, fast and reliable. Precisely because the PCR can detect different variants is how the cases can be detected, after that the viral genome can be fully sequenced on the same day and provide all the necessary information to classify it.

Children and pregnant mothers get a reduction of the risk thanks to vaccination, not being able to accept this even if proved scientifically is a personal problem people that are deeply antiscientific will have to deal with, for the rest of the people being rational is perfectly fine.

The actual fearmongers and brainwashed people are not those that provide information at opportune times to guide health care decisions but instead those that repeat baseless rumors about vaccine problems on athletes, including cases where the victims were not even vaccinated in the first place.

Fear short circuits logic.

And "Xi" was skipped since Xi should be ignored.

Or call it the POOH variant.

Omicron COVID Variant Found ONLY in Fully Vaccinated

All four Botswana Omicron variant patients were fully vaccinated

The “Omicron” variant of COVID arrived just in time to ruin Christmas.

The O variant - YouTube

Dr. John Campbell talks about the Omicron. Very interesting

Omicron COVID Variant Found ONLY in Fully Vaccinated

Misleading half truth. Cases found on travelers for which vaccine is a requirement obviously will be found on vaccinated people, this do not mean the variant spread only (nor even predominantly) on vaccinated people. It would be like only testing people 160cm tall or lower and then announcing "Omicron variant found only on people of low body height"

The variant has been declared a high risk for reinfection, which means it can also escape from natural immunity as well.

Seems like an article meant to encourage rich countries to throw more money at vaxxing Africa.

Without even knowing if the current vaxes will work with omicon.

Mamma Mia! Here we go again...

Who here wanted a new SoE for Christmas because I sure as heck didn't. I understand some people can't get vaccinated for medical reasons but to those anti-vaxxers out there who don't seem to understand the basic concept of science - please quit being selfish idiots and get vaccinated already. The world can't go another year of this. Everyone's at the end of their rope.

Quite a lot of Greek letters skipped between Delta and Omicron. At least 10. There must be a lot more variants out there than most people know.

Please immediately close your borders, Japan.

If prevents Omicron from coming to Japan then it is worth it.

It's probably already here but they haven't named it yet. We could give it a go. "Pfizer and Moderna Disease" could be called the "Phimodi variant". It's know to cause heart attacks. Thankfully I'm fully inoculated against that disease or that variant.

If this variant has been seen in Botswana, South Africa and Malawi then it is already widespread throughout Africa which means it’s actually already too late and will like the original strain move through the rest of the world. I can easily see a new vaccine emerging quickly (again without proper clinical trials) and the whole cycle repeating itself. I’ll keep doing what I have always done…watch. It’s been almost two years and the world is still playing catch up. If it’s simply going to keep mutating into a more efficient virus then Africa and other third world parts of the planet are going to be your Achilles heel because this is where total vaccination is impossible. If you think it is possible then you have never been or lived there. It’s here to stay for the foreseeable future and we just need to get on with life and roll the dice like we have always done. It’s that simple.

Aly Rustom wrote:

If the developed world does not help the developing world get vaccinated the pandemic will be prolonged AND supply chains will be further disrupted. We are all interconnected, for better or worse. We either all sink or swim together.

I couldn’t agree more with your words,excellent post.

The Stock Market and the deep, deep concern within the medical field and uncertainty do not share that same enthusiasm.

Sputnik V is 100% state owned. One can only invest in the Russian state to (legally) make money off it. This being so, there is 'deep, deep concern' in the medical field but strangely, only in the part which stands to make money off Big Pharma.

Short term profit vs long term public health and social cohesion is no choice at all for literally, a few 'deeply concerned' people in the medical field.

Interestingly, the WHO skipped over naming the variant "Xi" - in the Greek alphabet, Xi comes before Omnicron.

That means people who contracted COVID-19 and recovered could be subject to catching it again.

Sounds like a desperate attempt to get people vaccinated. I'm fine with wearing a mask and even working from home, but getting jabbed every time a new variant comes out is ridiculous.

Omicron. What a ridiculous naming, this is pathetically silly and tells a lot about our period of mediocrity.

And what a hysteria. What a hysteria. The world has really come to a sad state where fear rules more than anything else.

There are more deaths this year with a vaccine and 70% vaccinated than last year without a vaccine.

but but but…unvaccinated people are causing the deaths this year! If only more people would get vaccinated it would stop!

ummm last year 0% were vaccinated and there were less deaths than this year. 70% vaccinated with a vaccine that supposedly works 95% of the time has led to zero decrease in deaths from last year. Why?

I worry about healthcare systems be overwhelmed. Let’s hope currently available vaccines offer some protection against severe symptoms. If not, maybe an effective vaccine or treatment can be developed.

I don’t think anyone knows enough yet to make declarative statements. It’s time for rational people to have more of a voice. Radical people unwilling to be vaccinated and spreading misinformation have too much of a voice.

This new variant has come just in time for the Winter Olympics. It will very likely be a disaster if it is not cancelled.

Some suggest that it would have been better not lockdown nor close border and let the virus run its course. My question to them is how much of the population will be left after it runs its course?

And to those that say "vaccines don't work", vaccines lower your risk of dying.

The virus will stabilise, globally, on the most dominant strain. This one has likely already spread quite widely undetected. No need to panic. The vaccines are doing OK. It's not ebola. We'll know more in a week or two. Border restrictions have come and gone throughout this, generally for political reasons more than medical ones. Wear a mask, get a jab, be careful and get on with life. The sky is not falling in. This does underline the need for the developing world to have access to vaccinations, and the requirement for Covid to spread through vaccinated populations quickly, before mutating. Lockdowns slow this, so we need to avoid them.

Look at the % of the population vaccinated and what has happened with the number of new infections and deaths as the % vaccinated has climbed

That proves the opposite of what you claimed. Vaccines help eve against a variant much more easily spread than the original for which they were made against, and make hospitalizations, complications and death much less important. What is the point of giving evidence that proves you wrong?

There are more deaths this year with a vaccine and 70% vaccinated than last year without a vaccine.

And which population make the vast majority of the deaths? still unvaccinated people. It is also important that you choose to pretend the cases and deaths come from a much more dangerous variant that can spread much more easily, all with the purpose of misrepresent the situation.

Vaccinating children who are not at risk of dying from this virus instead of vulnerable cohorts in developing countries is a blight on the human conscience!

The youngest person to die from covid in my country was aged "UNDER 10". The fallacy that children are somehow immune to covid is another misleading narrative. That child could have lived another 70 years or more but is now gone. How many need to die before people understand the virus does not discriminate.

*There are more deaths this year with a vaccine and 70% vaccinated than last year without a vaccine.*

Considering Covid has been started spreading globally around April 2020, the lethal variants came in 2021, that is an not a surprise, unless you don’t understand how to read data!!!

ummm last year 0% were vaccinated and there were less deaths than this year. 

Ummm the fact that last year we started from 0% cases might have played a part!!!

Ronin secretly misses living in Japan but unfortunately his shoulder chip needed a reality check so Japan spat him out.

An un expat spittle not to belittle lesson of non scientific evaluation.

the lethal variants came in 2021,

The what did people die from in 2020, the non lethal ones? You are saying that Covid is more deadly now with 70% vaccinated than it was with 0%?

Blacklabel

There are more deaths this year with a vaccine and 70% vaccinated than last year without a vaccine.

but but but…unvaccinated people are causing the deaths this year! If only more people would get vaccinated it would stop!

ummm last year 0% were vaccinated and there were less deaths than this year. 70% vaccinated with a vaccine that supposedly works 95% of the time has led to zero decrease in deaths from last year. Why?

I would have thought that would have been obvious. Last year we didn't have the Delta variant.

better stock up on TP again

The what did people die from in 2020, the non lethal ones? You are saying that Covid is more deadly now with 70% vaccinated than it was with 0%?

The current variant is undoubtedly more dangerous, and every variant is dangerous for people that choose to remain unvaccinated. Expecting vaccines to act on the still very significant portion of the population that rejects them is not logical.

This new variant has come just in time for the Winter Olympics. It will very likely be a disaster if it is not cancelled.

They weren't allowing tourists anyway, and with billions from the IOC on the line it will continue regardless of science or reason just like the last one

@Mark

Only last week LUNATIICS by the thousands were still fighting their governments and demonstrating against the vaccines!!?

Some people you just can't ever please.

@Gaijinjland

Are all the anti vaxers really going to deny the science? You people were warned this could happen if the virus spreads across an unvaccinated population. Get vaccinated. It's not going to kill you but covid could!

All Four Botswana “Omicron” Variant Patients Were Fully Vaccinated according to the Government of Botswana. Read the Government of Botswana statement they released. Link below.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/11/four-botswana-nu-variant-patients-fully-vaccinated/

New Omicron variant stokes world fears; triggers travel bans;

The world must have gone mad.

One moment open up for travel, next moment ban the travel.

Madness of the highest degree, incomprehensible, beyond imagination..

Would anyone not give up or surrender..?

Peter Neils- “I worry about healthcare systems in some places collapsing from the unwilling-to-be-vaccinated. They're healthcare thieves taking the beds and care that the responsible people should have.”

Please don’t judge people so quickly.

All Four Botswana “Omicron” Variant Patients Were Fully Vaccinated according to the Government of Botswana. Read the Government of Botswana statement they released.

Again, if you are testing travellers that need to be vaccinated to enter the country, that means you are only going to detect cases in vaccinated people. That do not mean vaccinated people are more likely to get the infection with the new variant, much less that it was originated or mainly propagated in vaccinated people. It just mean they are the people being tested for it.

The youngest person to die from covid in my country was aged "UNDER 10". The fallacy that children are somehow immune to covid is another misleading narrative.

No, the narrative is that healthy children are immune to it. The almost 500 kids (under 18) who died in the US from covid essentially all had other serious issues (cystic fibrosis, diabetes, cancer, obesity,...). For healthy children, the vaccine is more dangerous than the virus.

virusrex

Again, if you are testing travellers that need to be vaccinated to enter the country, that means you are only going to detect cases in vaccinated people. That do not mean vaccinated people are more likely to get the infection with the new variant, much less that it was originated or mainly propagated in vaccinated people. It just mean they are the people being tested for it.

I'm just posting the facts of the initial Omicron variant discoveries in patients. The issue I have with many articles, is that they don't post a lot of the important information to give the public the entire picture. Make you own conclusions from that information.

For all the initial discoveries of the Omicron variants, all the cases were vaccinated except one, which is the Belgium case. All two cases in HK were vaccinated. All three cases in Israel were vaccinated. All four cases in Botswana were vaccinated.

I'm just posting the facts of the initial Omicron variant discoveries in patients. 

And the very clear and obvious fact is that those tested were incoming passengers who had to be vaccinated.

As VirusRex explained it does not correlate to saying only vaccinated will get the new strain.

The unfortunate reality is that Japan borders must be closed again and my coworkers waiting to enter the country must give up.

The current variant is undoubtedly more dangerous...

It is? Based on what? The experts are basically saying that because of all the mutations, anything is possible.

Instead of relying on the wild speculation, I prefer listening to someone who has a deep understanding of the structure of the previous variants and explains why he believes variants more contagious than delta are unlikely:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBm1BKL4zlg&t=1166s

(It's in French, so you might need subtitles)

For all the initial discoveries of the Omicron variants, all the cases were vaccinated except one, which is the Belgium case. All two cases in HK were vaccinated. All three cases in Israel were vaccinated. All four cases in Botswana were vaccinated.

Again, for all the cases detected in travellers, which are not a representative population infected, they are a representative population tested. As the article clearly mentions "Early evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection compared with other highly transmissible variants" this indicate most likely people that were not vaccinated but only infected.

For healthy children, the vaccine is more dangerous than the virus.

You keep repeating this even when you have accepted there is no evidence to prove it, that is not an honest way to discuss, using again an argument that was demonstrated false even to you.

It is? Based on what? The experts are basically saying that because of all the mutations, anything is possible.

Based on the fact Delta (the current predominant variant) it is more easily transmitted and there is no described attenuation of the disease. Having more cases because of the easy of transmission with the same rate of complications and death means a higher total amount of people affected than with the previous strains, more dangerous is the only appropriate way to describe it.

There has been a sharp rise from the recent very low numbers, but the cases and deaths in South Africa are still very much lower than they were a few moths ago. We are still at the very early stages, nobody can legitimately say that it is undoubtedly more dangerous...

nobody can legitimately say that it is undoubtedly more dangerous...

Well, since nobody is saying it you are discussing against an imaginary argument. Delta is the one that is much more dangerous and that explain why this year infections have been so numerous. What the experts and the article say is that this new variant could be more dangerous, because of the molecular and epidemiological evidence.

Why say "wait to take action until it is understood"? By that time it will be too late.

nobody can legitimately say that it is undoubtedly more dangerous...

Well, since nobody is saying it you are discussing against an imaginary argument.

What?!!!

You wrote "The current variant is undoubtedly more dangerous..."

"Travel restrictions"??? No....!! BAN BAN BAN!!

Ingvar

I see. So I wonder if the WHO will reach the "Xi variant"

I dunno, but I feel that will be a long wait. Somehow WHO that we are always referred to for information seems to have a couple of blind spots.

You wrote "The current variant is undoubtedly more dangerous..."

And repeatedly wrote that Delta is the currently predominant variant, omicron could not be characterized as "the current variant" in any way, much less if another one is referenced as such several times. You need to pay more attention to what other people write before trying to refute something nobody have said.

My friends from Tanzania bragged about how everything was fine back home, no masks and no vaccinations. This was just at the beginning of fall.

@Bob Fosse

And the very clear and obvious fact is that those tested were incoming passengers who had to be vaccinated.

As VirusRex explained it does not correlate to saying only vaccinated will get the new strain.

FYI: The Belgium that tested positive for the Omicron variant was unvaccinated and was traveled from Egypt to Belgium.

Again, I did not say anything about the correlation of vaccinated or unvaccinated with the Omicron variant. As of right now (11-26-21 in US) there still is no information how much it has spread with the populations of vaccinated or unvaccinated in those countries.

And "Xi" was skipped since Xi should be ignored.

Or because people might not know how to pronounce it. In Japan, of course, "kusai" means "stinks"

This is why the wealthy countries need to support and help vaccinate less wealthy countries. Those places are turning into new variant factories and then spread around the world.

If the people on this photo think abt not traveling for year then there will be no new cases

as simple as that

Someone needs to break the news to Biden about the vaccines “ending the pandemic.” Vaccines can help keep vulnerable people out of the hospital, but that’s it.

It looks like my Holliday has gone to the wall, (I hope not).

The what did people die from in 2020, the non lethal ones? You are saying that Covid is more deadly now with 70% vaccinated than it was with 0%?

I am sure a lot of these questions can be answered by proper reading and comprehension .

Covid is more deadly now than earlier is known and proven!!!! 70% vaccinations prevent severe infections and death in most cases.

However what is lethal is the anti vaxxer idiots, who don’t take the vaccine and put others at risk.

no need to push the panic button and stay calm you provaxers are safe