While Americans were celebrating their Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, giving thanks for the blessings they had received during the previous year, the newly named Omicron variant of the SARS-Cov-2 virus pushed the dangerous Delta variant out of the headlines as it spread across eight nations in Africa and from there to Israel and other nations around the world. It set off alarm bells because it’s genetic sequence, in key areas affecting infectivity, show major differences from those of existing variants, including those for which the world’s vaccines have been formulated to recognize as a threat.
The key question is, “How effective will our existing vaccines be against this new enemy?” The answer to that is as yet unknown. As a result, the United States, Europe, and other geographic areas are restricting travel from eight African nations, “out of an abundance of caution.” It appears that the governments of the world are taking the threat seriously this time, after doing too little, too late, when previous variants arose in virus hot spots.
Will these precautions be effective?
Will they be enough to halt the spread of the Omicron variant?
Will the existing vaccines protect against serious illness and death to the same degree that they do against the older variants?
That remains to be seen. At any rate, it seems wise to be even more strict in continuing to avoid social activities and other things that might expose you to a pathogen with unknown infectivity and disease severity. Social distancing and mask wearing in public are even more essential now than they have been in the past. Even if you have been “fully” vaccinatedd as well as boosted with a third injection, it is not clear how effective that will be against omicron. If you have been slacking off on your precautions lately, this might be a good time to reinstate them.
BIO:
Allen G. Taylor is a 40-year veteran of the computer industry and the author of over 40 books, including Develop Microsoft HoloLens Apps Now, Get Fit with Apple Watch, Cruise for Free, SQL For Dummies, 9th Edition, Crystal Reports 2008 For Dummies, Database Development For Dummies, Access Power Programming with VBA, and SQL All-In-One For Dummies, Third Edition. He lectures internationally on astronomy, databases, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He also teaches database development and Crystal Reports through a leading online education provider. For the latest news on Allen’s activities, check out his blog at wwwallengtaylor.com or contact him at allen.taylor@ieee.org