Global anxiety rises over Omicron variant
What happened
The discovery of the highly mutated Omicron coronavirus variant sparked alarm around the globe this week, as the World Health Organization rated its risk level as “very high” and scientists raced to assess its potential resistance to existing vaccines. The variant was first reported by scientists in South Africa on Nov. 24; the first U.S. case was identified in a Californian who’d returned from there on Nov. 22 and tested positive this week. Cases were identified in at least 20 other countries, including Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Australia, and Israel. Calling Omicron “a variant of concern,” the WHO beseeched governments to ramp up their vaccination efforts and surveillance of the variant’s spread. Japan, Morocco, and Israel closed their borders, while numerous countries––including the U.S.––banned flights from southern African nations and are requiring a negative test from all arriving passengers.
Prompting the alarm were Omicron’s unprecedented, 30-plus mutations in its spike proteins, which the virus uses to latch on to human cells. Experts said these mutations could make the variant even more transmissible than the Delta variant and better able to evade immune defenses, both from vaccination and prior infections. The WHO cited preliminary evidence suggesting an “increased risk of reinfection” to those who’ve already had Covid. Experts cautioned against panic and stressed that much remains unknown, saying it will be two to four weeks before testing reveals whether Omicron poses a dangerous new threat. But Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel predicted that existing vaccines would offer significantly less protection against Omicron than against previous variants. “All the scientists I’ve talked to [say], ‘This is not going to be good,’” he said.
President Biden urged calm, saying the variant was a “cause for concern, not a cause for panic.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strengthened its recommendations on booster shots, saying that all American adults should get them. “Get boosted now,” said White House health adviser Anthony Fauci. He noted that 60 million eligible Americans have had no shots. “Let’s get them vaccinated,” he said.
What the editorials said
The market turmoil that sent the Dow plummeting more than 1,000 points over the last week “may be driven more by the fear of new government lockdowns” than of the variant itself, said The Wall Street Journal. Facing rising cases, some European countries are returning to pandemic restrictions. But over the past year, we’ve learned that “lockdowns do more harm than good.” We need to accept that we’re living
“with an ever-mutating virus”––and “so do our politicians.”
So far, vaccinated people infected with Omicron, including the California case, are reporting “relatively mild symptoms,” said The Baltimore Sun. So if you’re not vaccinated, get the jab; if you are, get a booster. Wear a mask in public indoor settings, maintain social distance, and wash your hands frequently. “Sound familiar? It should.” These proven methods reduce the chance of infection, hospitalization, and death from all known Covid variants, and should continue to serve us well.
What the columnists said
How big a threat Omicron poses hinges on three questions, said Brown University public health dean Ashish Jha in The New York Times. Is it more transmissible than Delta, and will it replace it as the dominant variant? Does it cause more severe illness? And will it evade our immune defenses? Early data on transmissibility “look worrisome,” given the speed of its spread in South Africa. As for “immune escape,” the mutations are “reason for concern,” but “let’s be clear: It is extremely unlikely that Omicron will render the Covid-19 vaccines completely ineffective.”
Take a deep breath, everyone, said Noah Rothman in Commentary .org. Given how little we know about Omicron, “why was panic the default response of so much of the news-consuming world?” It seems that for “an influential few” in the media and government, panic “has become a lifestyle brand.”