Travelers wearing personal protective equipment arrive at Sydney International Airport in Australia, on Monday.Credit...James Gourley/EPA, via Shutterstock
The World Health Organization warned on Monday that global risks posed by the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus were very high, as countries around the world rushed to defend against its spread with a cascade of border closures and travel restrictions that recalled the earliest days of the pandemic.
Scotland and Portugal identified new cases of the highly mutated variant, and Japan joined Israel and Morocco in banning all foreign visitors, even as scientists cautioned that the extent of the threat posed by Omicron remained unknown and as the patchwork of travel measures were so far proving unable to stop its spread.
Many of the restrictions aimed at corralling Omicron, which was first identified last week by researchers in South Africa, were aimed at travelers from southern Africa, drawing accusations that Western countries were discriminating against a region that has already been set back by vaccine shortages caused by rich nations hoarding doses.
In a technical briefing note to member countries, the W.H.O. urged national authorities to step up surveillance, testing and vaccinations, reinforcing the key findings that led its technical advisers on Friday to label Omicron a variant of concern.
The agency warned that the variants high number of mutations including up to 32 variations in the spike protein meant that there could be future surges of Covid-19, which could have severe consequences.
Experts say that while the variant may be more transmissible than prior versions of the virus, existing vaccines are likely to offer protection from severe illness and death, although some countries, including Britain, were preparing to expand booster programs to protect more people.
The agency stressed the need for countries to accelerate vaccinations against Covid as rapidly as possible, particularly for vulnerable populations and for those who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated. It also called on health authorities to strengthen surveillance and field investigations, including community testing, to better determine Omicrons characteristics.
The recommendation underscored that the steps taken by some countries to wind down testing and tracing capacity in recent months as the pandemic appeared to be receding thanks to rising vaccination rates are moving in the wrong direction.
Testing and tracing remains fundamental to managing this pandemic and really understanding what youre dealing with, said Margaret Harris, a spokeswoman for the agency. Were asking all countries to really look for this variant, to look if people who have got it are ending up in hospital and if people who are fully vaccinated are ending up in hospital.
The briefing note adds that P.C.R. tests are an efficient tool for detecting the new variant because they do not require as long a wait for an outcome as genetic sequencing tests that require laboratory capacity not available in all countries.
Its very good news, Ms. Harris said. You can much more quickly spot whos got it.
But while the agency had previously cautioned against imposing travel bans, the briefing note took a more flexible line, calling for a risk-based approach to travel restrictions that could include modified testing and quarantine requirements. The agency said it would issue more detailed travel advice in the coming days.
Japan on Monday joined Israel and Morocco in barring all foreign travelers, and Australia delayed reopening its borders for two weeks, as more countries sealed themselves off in response to the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, said that Japan would reverse a move earlier this month to reopen its borders to short-term business travelers and international students. Japan, the worlds third-largest economy, has been closed to tourists since early in the pandemic, a policy it has maintained even as other wealthy nations reopened to vaccinated visitors.
Some countries proceeded with their plans to reopen on Monday, like Singapore and Malaysia, which opened their land border. South Korea, on the other hand, announced that it was delaying any loosening of social distancing restrictions.
Australia said on Monday that it would delay by two weeks its plan to reopen its borders to international students, skilled migrants and travelers from Japan and South Korea. The country said it would use the delay, to Dec. 15, to study whether the Omicron variant is more dangerous than the Delta variant, which raced across the world earlier this year.
Israel reopened to vaccinated tourists only four weeks ago.
Hours after Israel announced its blanket ban over the weekend, Morocco said on Sunday that it would deny entry to all travelers, even Moroccan citizens, for two weeks beginning Monday. The country is banning all incoming and outgoing flights over the two-week period.
The moves by Japan, Israel and Morocco stood in contrast to those in places like the United States, Britain, Canada and the European Union, which have all announced bans on travelers only from southern Africa.
Meanwhile, Indonesia on Monday joined a small but growing list of countries to bar travel with Hong Kong as well as the southern African region. Hong Kong detected two cases of Omicron on Thursday, prompting India, Pakistan and other nations to impose a travel ban.
The travel bans have triggered resentment among Africans who believed that the continent was yet again bearing the brunt of panicked policies from Western countries, which had failed to deliver vaccines and the resources needed to administer them.
In Japan, all foreign travelers except those who are residents of the country will be barred from entering starting at midnight on Monday.
In Israel, all foreign nationals will be banned from entering for at least 14 days, except for urgent humanitarian cases to be approved by a special exceptions committee. Returning vaccinated Israelis will be tested upon landing and must self-quarantine for three days, pending results of another P.C.R. test. Unvaccinated Israelis will have to self-quarantine for seven days.
Israelis returning from countries classified as red, with high risk of infection, including most African countries, must enter a quarantine hotel until they receive a negative result from the airport test, then transfer to home quarantine (until they get a 7-day P.C.R. test result).
Ran Balicer, the chairman of an expert panel that advises the Israeli government on Covid-19 response, said the decision was temporary and was taken out of prudence.
Japan has yet to report any cases of the new variant, though it is studying a case involving a traveler from Namibia. Israel has identified at least one confirmed case of Omicron so far a woman who arrived from Malawi and testing has provided indications of several more likely cases in the country.
Aida Alami contributed reporting from Morocco, and Muktita Suhartono from Indonesia.
transcript
transcript
Enhanced surveillance has identified six cases of the Omicron variant in Scotland so far. Four of these are in Lanarkshire and two in greater Glasgow and Clyde. Now its important for me to stress that the contact tracing of these cases is still ongoing. However, at this stage, we know that not all of them have any recent travel history to, or known links with others who have traveled to, the countries in Southern Africa, where the variant was originally detected. This suggests that there might already be some community transmission of this variant in Scotland. But again, let me stress there is no evidence yet that this is sustained, nor any evidence from the enhanced surveillance that it is widespread at this stage.
Officials in Scotland confirmed on Monday that six cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus had been recorded in the country and that some of those infected had not traveled recently, suggesting that there was community transmission. But they said there was no evidence that the transmission was sustained or widespread.
All of the infected individuals are in isolation and none have been hospitalized, said Scotlands first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, who described the emergence of the highly mutated Omicron variant as the most challenging development of the pandemic for quite some time.
At an emergency news conference, Ms. Sturgeon said that she had asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain to convene a meeting of Britains top emergency committee, insisting that the moment called for collective, national vigilance.
In a joint letter to Mr. Johnson, she and the first minister of Wales urged tougher rules for travelers entering the United Kingdom: We need to work collectively and effectively as four nations to take all reasonable steps to control the ingress of the virus to the country and then to limit its spread.
Four cases have been identified in the Lanarkshire area and two in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, officials said. Health officials had not yet determined whether the variant had arrived in Scotland from overseas. The countrys health agency and local health protection teams are carrying out contact tracing to establish the origin of the cases, as well as identify people who might have been exposed.
Ms. Sturgeon said there was no evidence yet that any of the six confirmed cases in Scotland had links to the United Nations climate summit, which took place in Glasgow this month. If that were the case, she said, I think our surveillance efforts might be showing more cases.
Still, Ms. Sturgeon said, the event, which drew participants from around the world, had not been ruled out as the source of the variant in Scotland.
The first minister urged the public to use this as an opportunity to up compliance with all the restrictions in place. She added that further restrictions on regional travel in the lead-up to Christmas were not planned, but warned that could change.
I still hope, really fervently hope, to be having a normal Christmas with my family, she said. Can I say that with 100 percent certainty? No, but thats what I hope, and thats what I think we should all be hopeful for.
President Biden will give an update on the U.S. response to the Omicron variant on Monday, the White House said in a statement on Sunday evening, as top federal health officials urged unvaccinated Americans on get their shots and eligible adults to seek out boosters.
Appearing on morning talk shows on Sunday, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, cautioned Americans that the emergence of Omicron and the uncertainty that surrounds it are reminders that the pandemic is far from over.
While the variant has yet to be detected in the United States, maintaining vigilance and safeguarding public health through inoculations, masking indoors and distancing, remains critical, he said.
I know, America, youre really tired about hearing those things, but the virus is not tired of us, Dr. Collins said. And its shape-shifting itself.
The White House said that President Biden met on Sunday with members of his Covid response team, including Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert. With much still unknown about the Omicron variant, Dr. Fauci told the president that it would take approximately two more weeks to learn more about its transmissibility and severity, but said that he continues to believe that existing vaccines are likely to provide a degree of protection against severe cases of Covid, the White House said.
Dr. Collins stressed that inoculation remains the first line of defense, saying that there are good reasons to believe, based on previous variants, that current vaccines will provide sufficient protection.
Please, Americans, if youre one of those folks whos sort of waiting to see, this would be a great time to sign up, get your booster, Dr. Collins said on Fox. Or if you havent been vaccinated already, get started.
He also underlined other critical mitigation efforts, including indoor masking when around unvaccinated individuals and maintaining social distance, in slowing the spread.
Dr. Fauci delivered a similar message, sending a clarion call for vaccinations and boosters. It is inevitable that the variant, which has already been detected in several countries, will surface in the United States, Dr. Fauci said.
The question is, will we be prepared for it? Dr. Fauci said on ABCs This Week on Sunday morning. And the preparation that we have ongoing for what were doing now with the Delta variant just needs to be revved up.
Portugal on Monday said it had identified 13 cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, all tied to Belenenses, a soccer club that was forced to take part in a top-flight game over the weekend that was abandoned while in progress.
The countrys national health institute said that the 13 people were isolating and that they were all players or staff members of Belenenses, which fielded a depleted team of only nine players against Benfica on Saturday after reporting a coronavirus outbreak.
The institute also confirmed that one of the 13 people was a player who had recently returned to Portugal from South Africa, whose scientists helped identify Omicron. Benficas players will be tested for the virus, the countrys general health director, Graa Freitas, told the local TSF radio station.
Before the game on Saturday, as many as 17 players and staff members of the Belenenses club tested positive for the virus, although it was unclear at the time whether those cases involved the new variant. The Belenenses players sought to have the game canceled, but officials reportedly told them that it had to go on.
Separately, Portugals health authorities said they were tracing more than 200 passengers who had arrived in Portugal on Saturday from Maputo, Mozambique. At least two people on the flight had tested positive for the virus, but the authorities said it was too early to confirm whether these were Omicron cases.
Portugal on Monday began suspending all flights to and from Mozambique, which is a former Portuguese colony and shares a border with South Africa, over concerns about the new variant.
Even before concerns about the new Omicron variant arose, China had refused calls to loosen its border restrictions, which are among the strictest in the world.
Now Chinese researchers are offering data to support the governments decision to maintain its extreme zero Covid strategy.
A recent study published on the countrys Center for Disease Control and Prevention website found that China could face more than 630,000 coronavirus cases a day if it dropped its zero-tolerance prevention measures and lifted curbs on travel, in the way that some Western countries have.
That would be more than five times as many as the total number of cases reported in China, which has a population of 1.4 billion, in the years since the virus first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, according to a New York Times database. Such an outbreak would put a huge strain on the countrys resources, including its hospital system, said the report, which was published before the World Health Organization labeled Omicron a variant of concern.
The authors of the report, who are scholars at Peking University in Beijing, wrote that the findings raised a clear warning that the country was not ready to open up.
More efficient vaccinations or more specific treatment, preferably the combination of both, are needed before entry-exit quarantine measures and other Covid-19 response strategies in China can be safely lifted, they wrote.
While China has vaccinated more than 75 percent of its population, questions have been raised about the efficacy of the countrys homegrown vaccines.
The Beijing government has staked much of its political legitimacy on controlling the virus better than other countries. The strategy, so far, has worked: China has reported fewer than 5,000 deaths since the pandemic began and has managed to quickly tame sporadic outbreaks through severe, and sometimes impractical, measures. On Monday, China reported just 21 locally transmitted cases, most of which were reported in the northern region of Inner Mongolia.
Source: Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University. The daily average is calculated with data that was reported in the last seven days.
While some critics have warned that Chinas approach could be unsustainable and counterproductive, growing concerns about the new Omicron variant now make it even more unlikely that Beijing will ease its restrictions, which include at least two weeks of mandatory quarantine for visitors as well as snap lockdowns and mass testing campaigns in areas where the virus is detected.
Dr. Zhang Wenhong, one of Chinas top infectious disease experts, said on Sunday that the countrys comprehensive approach to fighting the virus made it well placed to confront the evolving threat.
If we can cope with the Delta variant, we can also cope with Omicron, Dr. Zhang wrote on Weibo, a popular Chinese social media platform.
A woman sent a quarantine hotel in Queensland, Australia, up in flames by lighting a fire under a bed in her room, according to police, triggering the evacuation of the buildings 163 occupants.
Police charged the 31-year-old woman, who was quarantining in the Pacific Hotel in the city of Cairns with her two children, with arson on Sunday.
The fire was started at about 7 a.m. on Sunday in the womans room on the top floor of the hotel in far north Queensland, police said. It then spread to neighboring rooms.
The hotel was quickly evacuated, and there were no injuries, said Chris Hodgman, the Queensland Police acting chief superintendent, on Sunday afternoon. But the hotel had suffered significant damage, he said, and the residents needed to be moved to another quarantine facility.
Photos and videos posted to social media showed flames and thick smoke pouring out of two rooms on the hotels 11th floor.
Her two children, with whom she had been occupying the room for a few days after arriving from another state in the country, were being looked after by police, he added.
Authorities charged the woman with one count of arson and another of willful damage. She was expected to appear in a local court on Monday.
Anyone who arrives in Queensland from another state or overseas must quarantine for 14 days under the states pandemic borer restrictions. Those who have a house that fits government criteria around ventilation may undergo home quarantine, but those who do not must quarantine in a designated hotel and foot the bill themselves.
Source: Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University. The daily average is calculated with data that was reported in the last seven days.
The incident comes as rallies against pandemic measures continue to ramp up around Australia. On Saturday, police estimated that 20,000 people took to the streets of Melbourne to protest the state governments plans to introduce a bill that would extend its powers to impose pandemic restrictions. The previous weekend, thousands in the countrys state capitals rallied against vaccination requirements and coronavirus restrictions.
On Monday, Australia reported a third case of the Omicron coronavirus variant, in a traveler from South Africa quarantining in the Northern Territory. Two cases were discovered in travelers quarantining in New South Wales on Sunday.
As nations severed air links from southern Africa amid fears of another global surge of the coronavirus, scientists scrambled on Sunday to gather data on the new Omicron variant, its capabilities and perhaps most important how effectively the current vaccines will protect against it.
The early findings are a mixed picture. The variant may be more transmissible and better able to evade the bodys immune responses, both to vaccination and to natural infection, than prior versions of the virus, experts said in interviews.
The vaccines may well continue to ward off severe illness and death, although booster doses may be needed to protect most people. Still, the makers of the two most effective vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, are preparing to reformulate their shots if necessary.
We really need to be vigilant about this new variant and preparing for it, said Jesse Bloom, an evolutionary biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
Even as scientists began vigorous scrutiny of the new variant, countries around the world curtailed travel to and from nations in southern Africa, where Omicron was first identified. Despite the restrictions, the virus has been found in a half-dozen European countries, including the United Kingdom, as well as Australia, Israel and Hong Kong.
Already, Omicron accounts for most of the 2,300 new daily cases in the province of Gauteng, South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday. Nationally, new infections have more than tripled in the past week, and test positivity has increased to 9 percent from 2 percent.
Scientists have reacted more quickly to Omicron than to any other variant. In just 36 hours from the first signs of trouble in South Africa on Tuesday, researchers analyzed samples from 100 infected patients, collated the data and alerted the world, said Tulio de Oliveira, a geneticist at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine in Durban.
Within an hour of the first alarm, scientists in South Africa also rushed to test Covid vaccines against the new variant. Now, dozens of teams worldwide including researchers at Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have joined the chase.
They wont know the results for two weeks, at the earliest. But the mutations that Omicron carries suggest that the vaccines most likely will be less effective, to some unknown degree, than they were against any previous variant.
The discovery the Omicron variant comes at a delicate moment for an airline industry that was just starting to see a rebound.
The question is whether the new coronavirus variant will deter travelers, as the Delta variant did this summer.
Several nations, including the United States, have banned visitors from South Africa and a handful of neighboring countries. Japan, Morocco and Israel have barred all incoming foreign visitors, while the Philippines has banned visitors from southern Africa and several European countries.
The international travel recovery has been slower than it has been in the United States. President Bidens decision to ease longstanding restrictions on foreign travelers this month promised to stimulate that rebound. It isnt yet clear how or whether the Omicron variant will affect travel demand, but if travel bans proliferate and concerns over the variant continue to spread, hopes for an accelerated international rebound could be dashed once again.
Only two U.S. carriers, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, fly out of southern Africa. Both have said that they are not yet planning to adjust their schedules in response to the administration's ban, which takes effect on Monday and does not apply to American citizens or lawful permanent residents. Delta operates three weekly flights between Atlanta and Johannesburg. United operates five flights a week between Newark and Johannesburg, and it has not changed its plans to restart flights between Newark and Cape Town on Wednesday. None of the countries that have announced the new travel restrictions are major sources of business for U.S. carriers.
No major American airline has announced any substantive changes to procedures because of the variant. And all passengers flying into the United States must provide proof of a negative coronavirus test, with noncitizens also required to be fully vaccinated.
Within the United States, air travel has nearly recovered, even with many businesses still wary of sending employees on work trips. The number of people screened at airport security checkpoints over the past week was down only 10 percent from the same week in 2019, according to the Transportation Security Administration. And the industry successfully weathered the crush of travelers, avoiding the disruptions that at some airlines lasted for days in recent months.
In announcing on Monday that its borders would be closed to travelers from everywhere, Japan adopted a familiar tactic. The country has barred tourists since early in the coronavirus pandemic, even as most of the rest of the world started to travel again.
And it had only tentatively opened this month to business travelers and students, despite recording the highest vaccination rate among the worlds large wealthy democracies and after seeing its coronavirus caseloads plunge by 99 percent since August.
Now, as the doors slam shut again, Japan provides a sobering case study of the human and economic cost of those closed borders. Over the many months that Japan has been isolated, thousands of life plans have been suspended, leaving couples, students, academic researchers and workers in limbo.
Ayano Hirose has not been able to see her fianc, Dery Nanda Prayoga, in person for the past 19 months, since he left Japan for his native Indonesia, just two weeks after her parents blessed their marriage plans. The couple has made do with multiple daily video calls. When they run out of things to talk about, they play billiards on Facebook Messenger or watch Japanese variety shows together online.
We dont want to suffer in pain at the thought of not being able to reunite in the near future, said Ms. Hirose, 21, who has written letters to the foreign and justice ministries asking for an exemption to allow Mr. Dery to come to Japan. So we will think positively and continue to hold out hope.
Travel bans and other restrictions are already in place globally after theWorld Health Organizationdesignated a strain of covid-19 first detected in Botswanaa variant of concern on Friday (Nov. 26).
Named omicron from the Greek alphabet, the variant contains over 30 mutations to its spike protein, which allows it to invade host cells and invite a response from the bodys immune system. At this stage little is known about whether its more contagious or dangerous than other strains, or the effectiveness of current covid-19 vaccines against it. But it may not be long before we do.
There are two key ways of looking at vaccine efficacy. One involves the extent to which the vaccine can reduce the number of cases that might otherwise have resultedthats the vaccines impact on transmission. The other more pressing question is the extent to which vaccines can reduce severe disease and hospitalization from this strain. Its possible to contract covid despite being vaccinatedwhats known as a breakthrough infectionbut with existing variants, vaccines mostly protect against serious illness.
Penny Moore, research chair of virus-host dynamics at South Africas University of the Witwatersrand, is leading a team that is already studying how this variant contends with antibodies. Moore told the journal Nature that theyre working at warp speed and hope to have some answers in as little as two weeks.
Scientists at Pfizer and BioNTech also say they are likely to know significantly more about how well their vaccine should be expected to workin about two weeks.
For comparison, the first known samples of delta,first detected in India, date from October 2020. It was labeled a variant of interest on April 4, 2021, and then became of concern on May 11. On May 22, Public Health England shared preliminary data about delta and vaccines. A subsequent study published in June, which used blood samples from vaccinated people to gauge the level of antibodies produced toward the original strain or to delta, found delta was far more likely to cause a breakthrough infection, but that the vaccines were still effective at preventing severe disease.
More answers about omicron will come from seeing how it spreads (or doesnt) in countries where delta is highly prevalent, given deltas ability to crowd out other strains of the virus and become dominant.
A South African doctor who helped discover omicron said that she has seen relatively mild symptoms so far, though its unclear if these were in vaccinated or unvaccinated patients. If data suggest that vaccines dont work as well with omicron, Pfizer and BioNTech say it would be possible to tweak their vaccine in a little over three months.
Introduction
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) that results from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a major international public health concern, with 179 million active cases and 3 million death recorded.1,2 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States raised concerns that a variant of SARS-CoV-2 known as B.1.1.7, which was initially discovered in England in late 2020, was found in ten US states. At the same time, there are several other variants identified, namely, B.1.351 and B.1.1.28.1,3 Presently, there is another variant found in India, which is named the delta variant (B.1.617.2).4 The spreading of the variants has become a major public health problem because of the potential impact on case rates, hospital capacities, and ultimately death.3 There has been a remarkable extent to which the pandemic has worsened current economic and health inequalities. However, the remarkable speed of developing several COVID-19 vaccines (AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Sinovac, Pfizer, and Moderna vaccines) and their immediate authorization for emergency use in less than one year is a great achievement for the scientific community.5,6 Despite the overall favorable safety and effectiveness profiles of vaccines, the processes which have facilitated the rapid development have been a public concern with potential adverse impacts on vaccination acceptance that have led to the vaccine hesitancy.7 Although vaccine hesitation has a long history, it is reasonable to claim that today the Internet provides misinformation. Fear and misunderstandings of vaccine development and approvals likely make the spreading of misinformation easier.8,9
Social media are also used efficiently to notify the general population about the consequences of the pandemic. In addition, emerging infectious diseases like COVID-19 lead to enhanced public use and desire for all types of information from media. Social media thus has an important impact on perception of disease outbreaks, decision-making, and risk behavior.1012 As people share information on social media, such information can be accurate or inaccurate. Accurate and timely reporting on emerging risks such as SARS-CoV-2 is therefore essential to the public.13,14 In reaction to a global public health crisis, social media users generally develop and share information on healthcare available from local and international sources. Meanwhile, professionals and governments in the health sector have adopted social media to control and manage negative health crises.1517 However, various age groups prefer various social media sites, whereas the present study utilized Twitter, WhatsApp, and Facebook for data collection regarding the impact of social media on the vaccine. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that most of the social media platforms are sources of misinformation regarding the COVID-19 which may lead to significant risk to the public health.18 In Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Health has launched a vaccine campaign using a mobile application entitled Sehaty, which makes it easier to register for COVID-19 vaccination. Several vaccination centers have also been built in various cities throughout the country. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine campaign started on 17 December 2020 to supply all residents of Saudi Arabia with free vaccines.19 This study aims to understand the influence of social media on the attitudes and willingness of the general public of the Aseer region of Saudi Arabia to receive vaccination against COVID-19.
Following some earlier studies,2023 a self-administered, structured and closed questionnaire was established and afterward adapted to suit the common audience of the Saudi Arabia Aseer region. Then a pilot test was performed to ensure the validity of the survey and assess the language of the study carried out by a linguistic expert. The questionnaire was written in English and also translated into Arabic by a professional. It was made available to participants through several social media platforms (Twitter, WhatsApp, and Facebook). The data was collected in April and May 2021. Residents of Saudi Arabia who are over the age of 18 (eligible for COVID-19 Vaccination) and willing to participate in the survey were included in the study. The study excluded people who were not willing to give their consent. Data collection consisted of the following steps: Participants demographic characteristics and perspectives on the impact of social media on acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine were collected, and their opinions on the effectiveness of the vaccination. A Google Form questionnaire was created for this study. A total of 613 persons willingly took part in the survey. The average amount of time required to complete the form was 5 minutes. A self-administered questionnaire was created, and the pilot sample was then tested for validation to ensure its quality and internal reliability. The Cronbach Alpha factor (calculated for 14 questions) was determined as 0.782. In addition, three experts working within this field provided advice regarding this process. The pilot study results were not included in the final analysis.
The questionnaires were reviewed, and the data were cleaned, coded, and inputted in the SPSS version 20 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). The results were obtained through the application of both descriptive and inferential statistics. The questions in the questionnaire, if answered yes, were classified as either positive or negative impact of social media toward COVID-19 vaccines. For the positive attitude question, strongly agree and agree will be considered as positive attitude, while neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree will be negative attitude (control). Then, logistic regression was applied to identify independent factors associated with positive attitudes toward social media. The dependent factors are the questions with positive attitude toward social media, while independent factors included, sex, age, university level, and monthly income, employment status, and residence area. They were considered as a priori factors and were incorporated in the logistic regression model. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to detect correlations between dependent and independent variables. P value < 0.05 was considered significant.
The data collection processes were standardized, and no personal information about the participants was collected or stored. The remaining information was kept confidential during the study as well as during data analysis. The participants were asked for their consent before the beginning of the survey. They were not asked about their ID nor any personal information. Participation in the study was completely voluntarily.
The World Medical Association [WMA] Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical standards for medical research involving human people, as amended by the 59th WMA (ECM#2021-5415), Seoul, Korea, was followed in this study. Aside from that, no personally identifiable information about the patients was collected. In addition, the Research Ethics Committee at King Khalid University (HAPO-06-B-001) has reviewed and agreed on this project: Approval No. ECM#2021-5415; Approval date 0205-2020.
The study questionnaire was completed by 613 participants who fulfilled the inclusion criteria, with ages ranging from 18 to >55 years old. Most of the participant were young adults (1825 years; 35.9%) followed by 2635 years (30.7%), 3645 years (22.8%), 4655 years (8.6%) and > 55 years (2%). Here, 370 participants (60.4%) were females, while 243 participants (39.6%) were males. Considering the level of education, 414 (67.5%) individuals graduated from university, followed by 17.8% for high school or lower and 14.7% for a postgraduate degree. The monthly income was less than 5000 SR for 241 (39.3%) participants, while 164 (26.8%) reported having 800015,000 SR monthly income (Table 1). Apart from that, the vast majority of those who took part were residents of urban areas (82.2%). However, 16% of participants reported being infected or contacted by an infected person during the past six months with the emerging COVID-19.
Table 1 Demographic Presentation of the Respondents
Table 2 presents the perspectives of the participants on the social media impact of getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Over half (74.6%) of participants agreed or strongly agreed that there was misinformation in the social media about the COVID-19 vaccination. Also, a similar percentage (72.8%) are agreed or strongly agreed that they would obtain the information directly from the competent authorities without referring to social media. However, 37% of participants strongly agreed that social media had increased the willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine. In contrast, more than half of the participants demonstrated a negative attitude towards sharing vaccine information retrieved from social media. Most participants disagreed, strongly disagreed, or were neutral towards advising others to constantly follow social media to know the vaccines latest developments. Also, the participants agreed (21.8%) or strongly agreed (28%) that the amount and quality of information on social media negatively affect their psychological state.
Table 2 The Perspectives of the Participants on the Social Media Impact of Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine
Table 3 shows the questions in the questionnaire, if answered yes, were classified to either positive or negative impact of social media toward COVID-19 vaccines acceptance. Table 4 represents the logistic regression model which revealed a significant association between some independent variables and the positive attitude toward social media. Male participants were less likely to be influenced by social media when deciding to take COVID-19 vaccines (p=0.041, OR: 0.679, CI: 0.4680.985). Compared to participants with lower education level, participants with university education level or with postgraduate degree level were less likely to share information obtained from social media on the vaccine without making sure that the information were correct (p=0.01, OR: 0.546, CI: 0.3440.866) and (p=0.003, OR: 0.331, CI: 0.1580.693) respectively. Additionally, participants with postgraduate degree were in general less likely to have a positive attitude toward using of social media as s source of information regarding COVID-19 vaccine, see Tables 3 and 4.
Table 3 The Questions That Measure the Attitude Toward Social Media (SM)
Table 4 Logistic Regression Analysis for Examining Factors Affecting the Positive Attitude Toward Social Media Regarding COVID-19
Historically, vaccinations have led to the elimination of smallpox and significant decreases in rubella, mumps, polio, chickenpox, and various other infectious diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in over 100 million cases and more than 2 million deaths globally as of January 2021, and vaccination is likely to be vital in having pandemic prevention and management. Generally, the study of vaccinations illustrates the long gaps between scientific design, development, production, approval, and population-based use. The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a surge in global vaccine research and development (R&D).5,6,2430 Several vaccines are available, including the AstraZeneca (Oxford), Sinopharm, Sinovac, Pfizer (BioNTech), and Moderna vaccines.6 Social media has become a stage for public opinion, perception, and attitudinal opinion on different events or policies relating to public health concerning COVID-19 due to the pandemic. Social media has become a helpful element for communicating critical information to governments, agencies, and academics. Several projects use social media information to track infectious disease outbreaks and assess public opinion attitudes, behavior, and perceptions.3135 The rapid and dynamic social media environment was used in this study to acquire Saudi Arabian perspectives into the COVID-19 vaccination, while the previous outlined was followed.2023
Social media was among the most common ways to learn about news and updates on infectious diseases in developing countries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media played a vital role in sharing reliable or misleading statements. In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been widespread misleading statements or information that presents a severe public health problem, which leads to modifying the patterns of infection and the extent and depth of the pandemic. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first of a kind to explore the impact of social media on acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination in Saudi Arabia. All media could share this information, but the role played by social media in promoting misinformation should be of particular concern. In addition, scholars discovered misinformation about healthcare on social media sites, including information about vaccines and other virus epidemics.13,3639 In the present study, 46.8% (strongly agree) and 27.8% (agree) reported that social media carries wrong information regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, while it needs to be taken after consulting the healthcare professionals. Social media have taken initiatives from the beginning of the pandemic to prevent misinformation on their sites. Facebook has stated that it will remove all postings with false claims regarding coronaviruses and all vaccines. Twitter has added labels on tweets having misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine and erasing misinformation, while YouTube is devoted to blocking content with false vaccines claimed.40 In the current study, those who have an education level up to university (67.5%) are more aware of sharing information about the vaccine that they got from social media (P=0.01). Similar negative attitudes in sharing information on social media is found for postgraduates (P=0.003). Saudi Arabians have a higher perception of the COVID-19 pandemics (75.7%) than non-Saudi Arabians (65.9%), according to the previous studies.41,42 The previous study reported that about 83.6% got their information about COVID-19 pandemics from official sources, while 68.7% trusted the information shared by the Saudi health ministry.42 Presently, 51.3% strongly agreed to obtain the information directly from competent authorities. Yet, despite the negative impact of the social media towards sharing information of COVID-19, there is a more significant advantage of social media in influencing the vaccination. The transparency and social debates about public health are made possible by social media. Consequently, the ability to exchange information about the vaccination experiences more than at any other moment in human history makes tracking positive and negative impacts of the vaccine easier for researchers.43 This study also found similar observations in participants, whereas more than 50% have a positive attitude towards getting information about vaccine recipients through social media. Postgraduate (P=0.001) are significantly aware of this impact. In the present study, more than 50% have a positive attitude toward taking the COVID-19 vaccine, which is lower than the vaccine hesitancy in the earlier study conducted in Saudi Arabia.19 Also, the follow-up with interest on the latest developments regarding the COVID-19 vaccine was found in positive attitudes towards social media. Social media may also be utilized more efficiently to update the public about the health information in the pandemic, while almost half of the participants demonstrated a negative attitude towards social media (30.1% neutral).
The COVID-19 pandemic led to immediate losses such as the breakdown of the health care system and the global economic situation. Moreover, the long-term alteration of social and economic activity has dramatically affected mental health. As social media has become a key source of information and communication, there is a spread of misinformation about COVID-19 on numerous online social platforms. According to recent studies, spreading misleading information is causing widespread panic among people in several countries. Several studies have demonstrated that social media can spread misinformation, alter peoples mentality, and indirectly create psychological traumas as observed by prior incidents.4449 In the present study, almost half of the participants showed a positive attitude and agreed that the amount and quality of information on social media negatively affect their psychological state. While it also stated that the actual meaning of the receiving of the COVID-19 vaccine is affected, whereas 45.1% of participants are strongly supportive. As a result, social media plays an important influence on peoples perceptions of disease exposure, decision-making process, and risk behaviors.11,12 There are some limitations to the outcomes of this study, while the major one was the study represents only the Aseer region of Saudi Arabia. It is possible that the use of social media in data collection decreased the diversity of the sample population.
This study gives an assessment of the extent of social media on COVID-19 vaccination among Aseer populations. There is a high degree of awareness indicated, but there is a possibility for spreading misleading information via social media. The likelihood for participants to be vaccinated increased through social media follow-up despite the negative impacts. Social media that can share up-to-date scientific information about vaccination must be utilized perfectly by the government to help people make decisions about accepting vaccines. The public should improve their awareness toward the correct medical information by consulting healthcare professionals or looking after the correct knowledge from reliable sources.
The authors would like to thank King Khalid University, Deanship of Scientific research for funding this research through grant number R.G.P.1/209/41 for small group research project.
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.
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As the rapidly evolving coronavirus continues to spread with the World Health Organization recently confirmed that the virus will remain present for some time nations are gearing up to monopolize the production of vaccines, giving priority to its people and friendly countries.
This has led the WHO to accuse larger nations of causing a global shortage of vaccines, with developing countries getting the shorter end of the stick.
Amid uncertainty about COVID-19 and the emergence of ever more ferocious strains, a ray of hope has come to Egypt after scientists have produced the countrys first locally produced vaccine.
Egypt recently announced the end of laboratory and animal experiments of its new vaccine Covi Vax and started first clinical trial on the vaccine, after it was granted approval by the Egyptian Drug Authority.
Al-Masry Al-Youm met with various research teams, which worked on the stages of vaccine production from its inception until conducting clinical trials at the National Research Center.
Up to 70 scientists worked on the vaccine, while biotechnology Egyptian company, Vaccine Valley, is the national partner in the production of the Egyptian vaccine as it equipped special production lines for it.
Al-Masry Al-Youm monitored the team that moved from the lab to the National Research Center to work on clinical trials, which began to receive participating volunteers and conduct full medical examinations to choose the most appropriate among them.
The research teams role is over and production needs a sovereign decision, said a Professor of Virology at the National Research Center and head of the research team for the Egyptian coronavirus vaccine Mohamed Ahmed Ali.
He explained that the team benefited from the work done on previous experiments, such as swine and bird flu experiments, to produce the vaccine, especially since it has been working on a vaccine for the virus since it appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
I participated in the clinical trials of the Egyptian vaccine which I promised my father before his death, M. Sh., volunteer in the clinical trials of the Egyptian vaccine, said.
God sent me by chance to be the number one volunteer, as I was at the National Research Center hospital for dental examination. I was surprised by a hanging sign asking for volunteers to the clinical trials for the production of (Covi Vax), he added.
Egypt celebrates the efforts of a large number of researchers and scientists who defied the circumstances and were able to produce an Egyptian vaccine, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, said.
He extended his thanks to the work team and the workers of the National Research Center.
The head of the clinical trials team for Covi Vax at the National Research Center Osama Azmy confirmed that the first indications of clinical trials that are conducted in three phases, did not detect any problem related to side effects on volunteers.
He added the new vaccine will be available in vaccination centers from six to nine months maximum from now.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
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Former White House advisor Stephen Miller claimed that there would already be updated COVID-19 vaccines to deal with the Omicron variant if Donald Trump were still president today.
"If President Trump was still in office, by the way, we'd already have modified vaccines to deal with the new variant," Miller said, speaking to Sean Hannity on Friday night.
Scientists first detected the new Omicron variant in South Africa. It has since spread to several other countries, including Israel and Belgium, prompting a spate of travel restrictionsacross Europe, Asia, andNorth America, Insider's Aria Bendixreported. A health official said on Saturday that two cases of the variant have beendetected in the UK.
The variant itself has multiple mutations that might make it easier for it to evade antibodies that developed in the body after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. The mutations might also cause the variant to spread easily even among vaccinated people. Because of the numerous mutations, the World Health Organization has labeled Omicron a "variant of concern," a distinction given to the most threatening coronavirus variants. Delta, the variant that surged all throughout the summer in the US, was the last one to receive the label.
It's not clear yet whether existing COVID-19 vaccines will protect against the variant. But vaccine manufacturers in the US already considering their options.
Pfizer, for example, said it will be able to manufacture and distribute an updated version of its COVID-19 vaccine within 100 days if Omicron is found to be resistant to its current vaccine.The company expects to know within two weeks whether the variant is resistant to its current vaccine, a company spokesperson told Reuters.
In his interview, Miller did not specify how Trump would have sped up the timelines proposed by Pfizer and other vaccine manufacturers like Moderna.
The vaccines against COVID-19 were developed under the Trump administration. It took 11 months to get themout to the public after the first confirmed coronavirus case in January 2020.
It's also unclear what effect Trump specifically would have on the updated vaccine progress that President Joe Biden wouldn't have. Both Pfizer and Moderna indicated they would know whether the Omicron variant is resistant to their current vaccines within the next couple weeks. Johnson & Johnson is also conducting testing.
Australia'sexpert immunisation panel willreview the time framefor COVID-19 booster shots,as the nation's leaders come to terms with thethe detection of the Omicron "variant of concern".
TheAustralian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation's (ATAGI) current advice for the booster shotis that it be administered six months after a person has received their second dose.
Health Minister Greg Hunt today called for calm and insistedAustralia waswell placed to deal with the new variant should it spread in the community.
He said he hadasked ATAGI to review the time frame for booster shots and said Australia's vaccine stocks could accommodate fast-tracking them if it was recommended.
"We will, as ever, allow them (ATAGI) to act independently and continue to follow their advice," Mr Hunt said.
"But we're prepared with supplies. We are already one of the earliest nations in the world, after Israel, to havea whole-of-nation booster program.
"If they recommend changes, we will follow those changes."
The Australian Medical Association said in a statement the emergence of the Omicron variant underlined the need for a more aggressive rollout of booster shots, and a network of dedicated quarantine facilities.
Early evidence suggests symptoms caused by the Omicron variant appeared to be mild.
Mr Hunt said 415,000 people had so far received booster shots, out of an eligible cohort of about 500,000.
Four cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in NSW, following confirmation from genomic testing of two travellers who arrived from southern Africa yesterday.
The Northern Territory has also recorded the strain in a man in quarantine who recentlyreturned from South Africa.
The federal government on Saturday announced that non-Australian citizens who hadbeen in nine countries in southern Africa where Omicron hadbeen detected were barred from entering Australia.
Mr Hunt said the government would not hesitate to take additional measures if required, but the government's aim was to "remain safely open".
Aftera new COVID-19 variant emerged in southern Africa, scientists, health officials and the public areconcerned, and the World Health Organization is monitoring the situation closely. Here is what we know.
"We're in a vastly different positionfrom where we were on February 1, 2020," Mr Hunt said.
"We are one of the most highlyvaccinated, one of the most recentlyvaccinated, and one of the first tocommence a whole-of-nation boosterprogram from around the world."
Chief Medical OfficerPaul Kelly said vaccine manufacturersPfizer and Moderna were already preparing for the event that the Omicron variant proved more resistant to current vaccines.
But Professor Kelly said there was no evidence yet that vaccines were less effective against the strain.
He said it would take time to understand its severity.
"We know that there areseveral hundred either confirmed orsuspected cases that have gonethrough that genomic analysis inSouth Africa," he said.
"We know that there areone or two confirmed cases fromsurrounding countries.
"There arehandfuls of cases from parts ofEurope, and so forth, very smallnumbers at the moment.
"What we know so far isthe mildness of those that havetravelled to other countries itwill only be when we have largernumbers that we can make thatassessment."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is convening the government's National Security Committee this evening to discuss the Omicron variant, with a meeting of state and territory leaders also expected in the next 48 hours.
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From cities to rural towns, stay informed on where COVID-19 is spreading to understand how it could affect families, commerce, and travel. Follow new cases found each day and the number of cases and deaths in Alabama.The county-level tracker makes it easy to follow COVID-19 cases on a granular level, as does the ability to break down infections per 100,000 people.
BIBB MEDICAL CENTERShort Term208 PIERSON AVE, CENTREVILLE, AL 34.0 31.3%9.4 of 30.0 beds used N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 53 343 UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA HOSPITALShort Term619 SOUTH 19TH STREET, BIRMINGHAM, AL 1,487.4 88.5%1,226.4 of 1,385.4 beds used 91.6%273.1 of 298.1 beds used 57.1 N/A 18 N/A 927 2,372 ST VINCENT'S BIRMINGHAMShort Term810 ST VINCENT'S DRIVE, BIRMINGHAM, AL 478.9 70.5%317.3 of 449.9 beds used 65.1%54.6 of 83.9 beds used 5.0 N/A 7 N/A 124 707 PRINCETON BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTERShort Term701 PRINCETON AVENUE SOUTHWEST, BIRMINGHAM, AL 303.0 64.9%177.3 of 273.0 beds used 75.6%43.1 of 57.0 beds used 12.9 N/A 5 N/A 151 580 CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF ALABAMAChildrens Hospitals1600 SEVENTH AVENUE SOUTH, BIRMINGHAM, AL 418.0 91.6%360.9 of 394.0 beds used 93.1%44.7 of 48.0 beds used N/A 4.3 N/A 5 321 1,477 WALKER BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTERShort Term3400 HIGHWAY 78 EAST, JASPER, AL 187.0 66.5%104.4 of 157.0 beds used 83.3%10.0 of 12.0 beds used 4.1 N/A 5 N/A 93 558 ST VINCENT'S EASTShort Term50 MEDICAL PARK EAST DRIVE, BIRMINGHAM, AL 339.0 87.3%269.9 of 309.0 beds used 91.7%48.6 of 53.0 beds used 8.1 N/A 7 N/A 235 776 FAYETTE MEDICAL CENTERShort Term1653 TEMPLE AVENUE NORTH, FAYETTE, AL 33.0 34.2%8.9 of 26.0 beds used N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 67 200 HALE COUNTY HOSPITALShort Term508 GREEN STREET, GREENSBORO, AL 26.0 46.2%9.7 of 21.0 beds used N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 6 205 GRANDVIEW MEDICAL CENTERShort Term3690 GRANDVIEW PARKWAY, BIRMINGHAM, AL 413.4 91.4%357.7 of 391.4 beds used 88.8%82.0 of 92.3 beds used 6.6 N/A 6 N/A 163 739 MEDICAL WEST, AN AFFILIATE OF UAB HEALTH SYSTEMShort Term995 9TH AVENUE SOUTHWEST, BESSEMER, AL 165.9 66.3%110.0 of 165.9 beds used 97.1%20.4 of 21.0 beds used 7.4 N/A N/A N/A 164 1,341 BROOKWOOD BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTERShort Term2010 BROOKWOOD MEDICAL CENTER DRIVE, BIRMINGHAM, AL 372.4 82.0%272.7 of 332.4 beds used 63.4%46.9 of 74.0 beds used N/A N/A N/A N/A 60 653 SELECT SPECIALTY HOSPITAL - BIRMINGHAMLong Term2010 BROOKWOOD MEDICAL CENTER DRIVE, 3RD FLOOR, BIRMINGHAM, AL 38.0 81.3%30.9 of 38.0 beds used N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A NOLAND HOSPITAL BIRMINGHAM II, LLCLong Term50 MEDICAL PARK EAST DRIVE 8TH FLOOR, BIRMINGHAM, AL 24.0 72.1%17.3 of 24.0 beds used N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A GREENE COUNTY HOSPITALShort Term509 WILSON AVENUE, EUTAW, AL 16.0 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 8 47 UAB CALLAHAN EYE HOSPITAL AUTHORITYShort Term1720 UNIVERSITY BLVD, SUITE 500, BIRMINGHAM, AL 9.0 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 139
'Omicron' variant of COVID-19 called a 'variant of concern'
Scientists don't know how contagious the new COVID-19 variant is yet.
Staff Video, USA TODAY
The omicron variant first discovered in South Africa last week is likely to quickly spread around the globe, possibly with "severe consequences," the World Health Organization warned Monday.
"There could be future surges of COVID-19, which could have severe consequences depending on a number of factors including where surges may take place," the WHO said in a technical brief. "The overall global risk related to the (omicron variant)is assessed as very high."
The WHO said there iscurrently no information to suggest symptoms associated with omicron differ from those associated withother variants.No deaths linked to the omicron variant have been reported, WHO added.
The U.S. will need about two more weeks to learn more definitive information about the omicron variant'stransmissibility and severity, Dr. Anthony Fauci told President Joe Biden on Sunday, the White House said in a statement.The variant already hasbeen identified incountries across the world, including France, Canada, Australiaand Hong Kong.
Despite the unknowns of omicron, Fauci told Biden that he believes "existing vaccines are likely to provide a degree of protection against severe cases of COVID," reiterating that booster shots on top of full vaccination will provide stronger protection.About36% of Americans have gotten their booster shots, White House COVID-19 Response CoordinatorJeff Zients said last week.
Also in the news:
"Vaccine" is Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year for 2021: "The biggest science story of our time quickly became the biggest debate in our country, and the word at the center of both stories isvaccine."
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general, said it's "unacceptable" for some countries to vaccinate groups at very low risk of severe disease and giveboosters to healthy adultswhile just 1 in 4 African health workers has been vaccinated.
The Virginia Department of Health will be monitoring sewagein an effort to predict future outbreaks of COVID-19. Infected people shed the virus in bodily waste, even if theyre not showing symptoms. The goal is to provide warnings before a surge begins.
Scotland's Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said Monday that six cases of the omicron variant have been detected there. "Enhanced" contact tracing was underway.
The U.S. on Monday beganrestricting travel from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi. Meanwhile, the WHO urged countries not to impose flight bans on southern African nations: "South Africa should be thanked for detecting, sequencing and reporting this variant, not penalized."
Today's numbers:The U.S. has recorded more than 48 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 776,000deaths,accordingtoJohns Hopkins Universitydata. Global totals: More than 261million cases and nearly 5.1million deaths. More than 196 million Americansroughly 59.1% of the populationare fully vaccinated,according to theCDC.
What we're reading:After nearly two years of combating COVID-19, health experts thought the U.S. would have been in a better position to control the pandemic. Instead, many people remain unvaccinated and ignore mitigation measures, slowing the pace of progress and burning out health care professionals.
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The World Health Organization's World Health Assemblybegan a special session Monday to discuss anew global treaty for responding to future pandemics.The special session, just the second in the history of the WHO, will last until Wednesday.
The session is geared toward establishing a process to draft agreements "on pandemic preparedness and response," according toa newsrelease from the organization.Tedros told the gatheringthe international response to thepandemic has been slow and uncoordinated.
"Omicrons very emergence is another reminder that although many of us might think we are done with COVID-19, it is not done with us," Tedros said. "We are living through a cycle of panic and neglect. Hard-won gains could vanish in an instant."
Cases of the omicron variant ofthe coronaviruspopped up in countries on opposite sides of the world Sunday as many governments rushed to close their borders.
Japan announced it would suspend entry of all foreign visitors hours afterIsrael decided to bar entry to foreigners.Morocco said it would suspend all incoming flights for two weeks starting Monday amonga growing raft of travel curbs being imposed by nations around the world as they scrambled to slowthe variant's spread.
Scientists in several places, from Hong Kong to Europe, have confirmed its presence since South Africa announced its presence last week.
This time the world showed it is learning, said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, singling out South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for praise. South Africas analytic work and transparency and sharing its results was indispensable in allowing a swift global response. It no doubt saved many lives.
Canadas health minister says the country's first two cases of omicron were found in Ontario after two individuals who had recently traveled from Nigeria tested positive.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 261.5 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths has now passed 5.19 million. More than 7.9 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.
Singapore and Malaysia have reopened one of the world's busiest land borders, allowing vaccinated travellers to cross. It's been closed for nearly two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the country will move to a system of living with COVID-19 this week despite the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Member states of the World Health Organization have reached a tentative consensus to negotiate a future agreement on preventing pandemics, diplomats said on Sunday.
New COVID-19 cases in northern China have seen two cities suspend public transport and tighten control over residents' movements.
The World Trade Organization became the first major diplomatic casualty of the Omicron variant on Friday when it postponed its first ministerial meeting in four years due to the deteriorating health situation.
Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people in selected countries.
Image: Our World in Data
The World Health Organization is working to understand more about the Omicron COVID-19 variant, it announced on Sunday.
The WHO said it's not yet clear if the new variant is more transmissible compared to other variants, or if it caused more severe disease. However, the organization did reiterate initial evidence that suggests there might be a higher risk of reinfection from Omicron.
The WHO also said it was working with experts to understand the potential impact of the new Omicron variant on existing countermeasures against COVID-19, including vaccines. However, it said there's currently no evidence the variant causes different symptoms.
The US's top infectious disease official, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told President Joe Biden on Sunday that it will take around two weeks to have definitive information on the new variant.
Around the world countries, including the United States, have also tightened travel restrictions in response to Omicron, with Japan and Israel both banning entry for all foreign nationals. Australia is also reviewing plans to reopen its borders to skilled migrants and students from 1 December.
The Omicron variant has been confirmed in numerous countries around the world, with Switzerland detecting its first suspected case late on Sunday, adding to a list that includes the UK, Australia, Canada, France and Germany. The Netherlands announced yesterday that 13 cases on the Omicron variant had been found among passengers on two flights from South Africa on Friday, while Botswana has announced 15 more cases, in addition to the four confirmed cases it reported on Friday.
The COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship is a coalition of 85 global leaders, hosted by the World Economic Forum. Its mission: Join hands in support of social entrepreneurs everywhere as vital first responders to the pandemic and as pioneers of a green, inclusive economic reality.
Its COVID Social Enterprise Action Agenda, outlines 25 concrete recommendations for key stakeholder groups, including funders and philanthropists, investors, government institutions, support organizations, and corporations. In January of 2021, its members launched its 2021 Roadmap through which its members will roll out an ambitious set of 21 action projects in 10 areas of work. Including corporate access and policy change in support of a social economy.
For more information see the Alliance website or its impact story here.
The Philippines has launched an ambitious drive to vaccinate nine million people against COVID-19 over three days, deploying security forces and using tens of thousands of volunteers to help administer the programme.
Three million vaccinations per day is nearly four times the average of 829,000 daily shots in November. An official said news of the Omicron variant made the campaign even more vital.
"It is better to be prepared for the effects of Omicron," Carlito Galvez, the country's vaccination chief, told CNN Philippines on Monday.
About 35.6 million people have been fully vaccinated, or a third of its 110 million population. The country aims to immunise 54 million people by the end of 2021 and 77 million by next March.
Written by
Joe Myers, Writer, Formative Content
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.
