Did the fear over the Delta variant wear off too quickly? The collective world of public health bureaucrats is officially freaking out over the Omicron Covid-19 variant without knowing much about it. This morning, Dr. Anthony Fauci, a terrible public messenger for anything Covid-related, said that all options should be on the table, including new lockdowns, if necessary, to fight the Omicron variant coming out of southern Africa.
What may be coming down the pike in December or January? Potential lockdowns, and “anything and everything” we need to do to fight it, says Dr. Fauci:
The United States’ top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said on Sunday that Americans should be prepared to do “anything and everything” to fight the spread of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron.
It is “too early to say” whether we need new lockdowns or mandates, Fauci told ABC News.
“You want to be prepared to do anything and everything,” he said.
That’s hardly reassuring, but not unexpected from Fauci. He has been on the side of pushing a near zero-Covid model before Americans can get all their personal liberties back since the beginning. Business owners shouldn’t find it comforting either since many places have still never recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
Yet, here we are, in 2021, a full twenty months since this pandemic began back in March of last year, and we’re still talking about lockdowns even though the evidence is clear they do little to prevent spread. Most spread happens at home, or elsewhere, not out in public at the grocery store where people naturally tend to keep their distance anyway.
Perhaps the only sliver of good news for a Covid-weary public is that the 2022 midterms are right around the corner, and President Biden will be more hesitant in shutting down the economy again nationwide. That does not mean it won’t happen in pockets, such as New York State, which just declared a new state of emergency over Omicron with no evidence to base it on.
How is threatening people with statements like, “it’s coming,” based on any kind of science?
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency ahead of potential COVID-19 spikes this winter due to the already-circulating Delta and newly-identified Omicron variants of coronavirus.
The declaration, which goes into effect on Dec. 3, will allow the state to acquire pandemic-fighting supplies, increase hospital capacity and fight potential staffing shortages. It would also allow the state Health Department to limit non-essential and non-urgent procedures at hospitals.
“We continue to see warning signs of spikes this upcoming winter, and while the new Omicron variant has yet to be detected in New York State, it’s coming,” Hochul said.
Here we go, Gov. Hochul hasn’t gotten her chance yet to fully invoke authoritarian rule in her state yet since Cuomo was ousted, so Omicron might be her opportunity if she can scare everyone enough.
It’s alarming to watch governments react to news reports or stock market moves and begin threatening personal liberties yet again. The “science” on the Omicron variant is scant at best, yet from the news and statements from officials like Dr. Fauci, you’d think it was the second coming of Ebola wrapped in Covid.
For all we know, Omicron is likely already in the United States, as are a dozen other variants we don’t even know.
While Dr. Fauci sounds the alarm, other infectious disease doctors are urging the public to stay calm and stop panicking:
Houston expert Dr. Peter Hotez is giving residents more context on the situation this weekend.
After encouraging people not to “push the panic button,” on Friday, he said nations should prioritize access to vaccines instead of travel bans.
Hotez, who serves as co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital, said transmissibility is king in determining if omicron will impact the globe the way previous variants alpha and delta did. More data is necessary, he said.
“Before we press the panic button I think there’s a few things to consider,” Hotez said during an appearance on MSNBC. “Yes, it does have some immune escape properties, or at least it looks like it might, but that’s that’s not what’s associated with high transmissibility. We’ve had other immune-escape variants before that have not really taken off… That’s what I’m looking out for, the level of transmissibility.”
The level of angst created by a news cycle is disturbing, but it’s important for people to stay aware of what their governments are trying to do. The virus will always be one step ahead, but just like warnings and alarms about past variants, the Omicron could turn out to be little more than a blip.
