| Just when the world hoped COVID-19 might one day be beatable, or at least a controllable risk in people’s daily lives, a new variant of the coronavirus set off alarms, triggering unanswered scientific questions but instantaneous emergency international responses and panic in financial markets on Friday. Today, the United States joins other nations in restricting visitors from eight African countries because of the potential risks of the omicron variant of COVID-19. The variant has been detected in at least a dozen countries, including South Africa (where less than a quarter of the population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19), Canada (first confirmation in North America), Israel, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany, France, Portugal, Australia and the United Kingdom, where a mask mandate is back in place. President Biden will speak about the situation today from the White House. The United Kingdom plans a meeting today of health ministers from the seven largest industrialized nations to discuss responses. Researchers insist omicron is not “apocalyptic,” and there is no early evidence that it causes more severe disease or higher risks of death than previous variants, including delta. It is unclear how quickly omicron spreads; anecdotal information from South Africa suggests it is efficient at moving from human to human. CNBC: Moderna says a vaccine with targeted effectiveness against omicron could be ready next year. It is not clear such a vaccine will be needed. The Associated Press: Here is what scientists know so far about the new variant. Scientists, including Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, predict it will take about two weeks to gain a better understanding of omicron’s capabilities, and in the meantime, he and other administration officials urge Americans to get first, second or third doses of COVID-19 vaccines (The Hill). Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told NBC News over the weekend that he “would not be surprised” if the variant is already in this country. “We have not detected it yet,” Fauci said on Saturday. “But when you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility and you’re already having travel-related cases that they’ve noted in Israel and Belgium and other places, ... it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over” (The Hill). CBS News: “It’s almost definitely here already,” former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Sunday. Biden on Saturday urged all Americans ages 5 and up to get vaccinated and, if eligible, obtain booster doses as soon as possible. “That is the minimum that everyone should be doing. And I — you know, we always talk about whether this is about freedom, but I think it's a patriotic responsibility to do that.” Fauci joined administration officials in the Oval Office on Sunday to brief the president, all speaking through masks to tell Biden that experts believe existing vaccines are likely to continue to provide some protection against severe cases of COVID-19 infection as omicron spreads, the White House said in a statement. Fauci repeated the scientific community’s view that boosters for fully vaccinated individuals “provide the strongest available protection” against the coronavirus by replenishing waning immune responses. The World Health Organization (WHO) protested nations that implemented travel restrictions at borders because of omicron (The Associated Press) and instead called for more vaccinations, increased surveillance of the variant and laboratory experiments to better understand its biology. Scientists have already developed a standard PCR (polymerase chain reaction) nasal swab test that identifies the newest version of the coronavirus (The Associated Press and The New York Times). 
© Associated Press/Jerome Delay The U.S. travel rules in place today apply to individuals originating from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi. They do not apply to American citizens and lawful permanent residents. The Hill: Fauci defends new U.S. travel restrictions. Reuters: Japan, Israel shut borders to foreigners because of omicron. WHO officials were first alerted by South Africa on Wednesday about the new variant, which scientists are studying with urgency because of its abundant mutations affecting the virus’s spike protein, its potent transmissibility and possible adaptations to evade COVID-19 vaccines (The New York Times). The Associated Press: In Switzerland, legislation already in force to require special COVID-19 certificates, under which only people who have been vaccinated, recovered or tested negative can attend public events and gatherings, won majority voter support in a Sunday referendum. Bloomberg News: Financial markets face weeks of uncertainty while waiting for scientific appraisals of omicron. Currency markets stabilized as of Sunday (Bloomberg News). 
© Associated Press/Alex Brandon | 
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