The pandemic playbook is, once again, being torn up according to a new report from the Greenwich Times. In the course of just a few weeks, the omicron variant has upended recent calculations made about covid-19, prompting a return to travel restrictions and calls to stay home, as well as a new push for booster shots and a reevaluation of tactics such as vaccine passports.
The change is most acute now in Britain, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plans for a normal Christmas have been upended, once again, by a fast-moving variant. On Wednesday, a top U.K. health official told parliament that omicron was “probably the most significant threat we’ve had since the start of the pandemic.”
Similar scenarios could soon be playing out across the world. Rich, vaccine-abundant nations that had once hoped the pandemic was over are now recalculating. Some worry they are overreacting.
Speaking to Britain’s Sky News this week, the head of South Africa’s Medical Association warned that Britain created “hysteria” by overreacting to the threat of the variant. “You need to take precautionary measures, you have to be prepared but don’t hype it up,” Angelique Coetzee said on Tuesday.
Others have even argued that the spread of omicron could signal the final days of the coronavirus outbreak, pointing to some signs that the variant may produce less serious illness than the current globally dominant variant, delta. Some even see hope in the sharp rise of cases: Conservative outlets like the National Review are wondering if omicron is “not that scary after all” while Wall Street analysts have said it “could accelerate the end of the pandemic.”
Meanwhile, Businesses, employers, and universities are taking the data into their own hands and requiring booster coronavirus shots according to Axios. Three shots work better than two at preventing infection, especially against the Omicron variant.
But competing definitions of “fully vaccinated” based on where you live or work will inevitably confuse people. Booster requirements are steadily rolling out across the country, even though the federal definition of “fully vaccinated” hasn’t yet changed from two shots of Moderna or Pfizer and one of J&J. Metropolitan Opera said yesterday that all eligible adult employees and audience members must get booster shots in order to enter.
The NYT reports. Several universities — including Georgetown, NYU, and two private colleges in Minnesota — have announced booster requirements for students and staff. The NFL is requiring coaches and staff to get booster shots by Dec. 27.
