, Columnist
Omicron: Keep Calm and Carry on Vaccinating
There’s been swift, early warning about the new variant but that only means there’s still a lot of work to be done.
The UK has restricted travel from countries in southern Africa.
Photographer: Leon Neal/Getty Images EuropeThis article is for subscribers only.
At least we’re learning. Remember when the early reaction to the outbreak of a deadly virus in Wuhan was to discourage people from changing their travel plans?
South Africa’s government didn’t sit on information about a new worrying variant of SARS-CoV-2, which the World Health Organization has now dubbed omicron. It didn’t downplay it. On the contrary, authorities shared detailed slides so that countries could develop their responses.