Kansas City Confronts COVID 'Omicron' Variant

It seems that this holiday season we're already learn that "it's a small world after all" as the plague continues to cycle around the planet.

Here's the latest report . . .

“It seems to spread rapidly,” U.S. President Joe Biden said of the new variant, only a day after celebrating the resumption of Thanksgiving gatherings for millions of American families and the sense that normal life was coming back at least for the vaccinated. In announcing new travel restrictions, he told reporters, “I’ve decided that we’re going to be cautious.”

Omicron’s actual risks are not understood. But early evidence suggests it carries an increased risk of reinfection compared with other highly transmissible variants, the WHO said. That means people who contracted COVID-19 and recovered could be subject to catching it again. It could take weeks to know if current vaccines are less effective against it.

In response to the variant’s discovery in southern Africa, the United States, Canada, Russia and a host of other countries joined the European Union in restricting travel for visitors from that region, where the variant brought on a fresh surge of infections.

The White House said the U.S. will restrict travel from South Africa and seven other countries in the region beginning Monday. Biden said that means “no travel” to or from the designated countries except for returning U.S. citizens and permanent residents who test negative.

Meanwhile, the only thing we know for sure is that locals will continue to echo most of what comes down from D.C. as we hope for the best and await the next phase of the pandemic . . .

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news links . . .

Public health experts: Too early to tell Omicron's impact on KC metro

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - With the World Health Organization naming the latest COVID-19 variant on Friday, local doctors and public health officials say it's too early to say how this particular strain will impact the metro. Fears over the "Omicron" variant made Wall Street see its worst day so far this year, as the U.S.

Kansas City area health experts keeping an eye on omicron, new COVID variant

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The emergence of the new omicron variant of COVID-19 has the attention of public health officials everywhere. That's certainly true for health care providers in the Kansas City area, as well as passengers traveling to and from Kansas City International Airport, since new travel restrictions will affect airline travelers in the coming weeks.

World races to contain new COVID threat, the omicron variant

BRUSSELS (AP) - Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the world raced Friday to contain a new coronavirus variant potentially more dangerous than the one that has fueled relentless waves of infection on every continent.

What we know about the Omicron variant

A new and potentially more transmissible coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa has prompted a fresh round of travel restrictions across the world and raised concern about what may be next in the pandemic.

The new South Africa covid variant is a stark reminder that we are still in the depths of the pandemic

Covid variant Omicron has about 30 mutations in its spike protein, indicating it could be more resistant to vaccines than other strains.

Pfizer Vaccine Already Being Tested Against Mega-Mutated Omicron Variant

Testing has already begun to determine whether the Pfizer vaccine protects against a mutant strain of COVID-19 that first appeared in Africa and has already made its way to East Asia and Europe, the Financial Times reported Friday.

Europe and Asia, alarmed by COVID variant, start to tighten borders

LONDON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - European and Asian countries tightened travel curbs on Friday after a new and possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant was detected in South Africa, with the EU, Britain and India among those announcing stricter border controls.

U.S. stock market's COVID plunge puts these potential pullback lows in focus: analyst

With U.S. stocks suffering a sharp, Black Friday selloff following the discovery of a fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, chart watchers are attempting to gauge just how deep any pullback could get.

Developing . . .