The World Health Organization has classified a new COVID variant first identified in South Africa as B..1.1.529, or “omicron” under its Greek-letter system. WHO has suggested that the new strain brings a higher risk of reinfection while potentially escaping vaccine immunity. According to a statement released today, the variant was first reported to WHO on Wednesday. The first known infection was from a specimen collected on November 9th.
Sweeping travel restrictions have been implemented by numerous countries including the United Kingdom, Japan, Israel, and notably – the United States. President Joe Biden imposed a travel ban that applies to international flights from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi. Ironically, while on the campaign trail in 2020, Biden criticized the Trump travel ban – labeling the former president’s restriction on travel from the origin of the CCP virus as “racist” and “xenophobic.”
We are in the midst of a crisis with the coronavirus. We need to lead the way with science — not Donald Trump’s record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear-mongering. He is the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health emergency.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) February 1, 2020
A wall will not stop the coronavirus.
Banning all travel from Europe — or any other part of the world — will not stop it.
This disease could impact every nation and any person on the planet — and we need a plan to combat it.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) March 13, 2020
After the announcement of the new strain’s ability to reinfect those with both natural and vaccine-induced immunity, the stock market took a dive in anticipation of potential lockdowns and additional vaccine mandates. The Dow plunged by over 900 points – its worst day of 2021. S&P 500 also dipped by over 2%. Even major retailers have begun to push back against the Biden mandates in fear of exacerbated labor shortages.
Israel, one of the most vaccinated nations in the world, announced Friday that they have detected their first cases of the “omicron” variant. The three Israelis infected were fully vaccinated. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said in a statement that they are unsure of their vaccine’s efficacy against the new variant. The firm promised to produce a “tailor-made” vaccine for the “omicron” variant within 100 days if their research deems the current jab ineffective. Upon receiving emergency-use authorization, this could lead to broad, overreaching mandates for employees in the public and private sector that have been quite characteristic of the Biden administration.
NEW: President Biden on the Omicron variant: “If you have not gotten vaccinated, or have not taken your children to get vaccinated, now is the time.” pic.twitter.com/9QlsVkrV6x
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) November 26, 2021
Jacob Ornelas is a journalist, social media influencer, and contributor to Def-Con News. He has built a following of over 94,000 on the social media platform TikTok where he delivers daily headlines without the “legacy media spin.” His video podcast can be found exclusively on Instagram @PatriotJakey.
