12 DECEMBER 2, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Cause for concern, not alarm
They call it omicron, a variant of
COVID-19 fi rst detected in South
Africa that is considered at this
stage to be an even more virulent form
of the virus than the delta variant.
Since South African authorities reported
the omicron variant last week,
many other cases have been detected
around the globe. News of the variant
prompted a massive selloff in global
stock markets on Black Friday.
It also led Governor Kathy Hochul
to preemptively declare a state of
emergency to ensure hospitals are
prepared for any anticipated surge in
COVID-19 cases. Then on Sunday, Dr.
Anthony Fauci said on the morning
news programs that a new round of
mandates and lockdowns couldn’t be
ruled out at the present time.
But so much about the omicron variant
remains unknown — specifi cally
if it impacts vaccine effi cacy. Health
offi cials across the globe have said
there isn’t enough data yet to determine
whether this variant is vaccine
resistant.
In the unlikely event that omicron
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BioNTech has started work on a vaccine tailored to omicron, the new COVID-19 variant.
Alexandros Avramidis/REUTERS
is vaccine resistant, then we have a
new COVID-19 variant is going to
major problem on our hands, and it
spark alarm. And governments need
would threaten to undo the progress
to take measures to ensure that we’re
made in the fi ght against this global
prepared to handle any possible surge
pandemic.
in cases appropriately.
However, these same fears were
Talk of potential shutdowns, however,
expressed with the emergence of
is way premature and alarmist.
the delta variant — and as it turned
We lost so much as a society during
out, the vaccine proved eff ective at
the height of COVID-19, and it would be
curbing the spread and reducing the
catastrophic to go back to those dark
severity of infections.
days of the spring of 2020.
No question, the emergence of any
All the more reason for all of us to
ensure that we are vaccinated — that
we get booster shots six months aft er
the second dose — and that we keep
up our guard in public to ensure that
we keep ourselves and our friends,
families and neighbors safe.
We have every confi dence that if
all of us stand together in protecting
ourselves and ending this pandemic,
we can prevent omicron from causing
further tragedy and heartbreak
in New York.
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