MANDATORY JABS NOW SEEM THE RIGHT THING TO DO
Posted on 4th December 2021
Finally I am writing from a relieved household as both my wife and I have had our booster jabs. It is just an impression but I think the roll-out has speeded up and ultimately boosters are the best weapon against the virus. The emergence of the Omnicon variant has put the frighteners up one and all including the scientific community. Concrete evidence on its characteristics is yet to emerge but a couple of aspects strike me. It seems highly transmissible, perhaps more so than Delta, but maybe not necessarily more dangerous. Initial research coming out of South Africa shows that the vaccinated are avoiding hospitalisation and death and that is good news. Governments moved swiftly and introduced travel bans and in the circumstances that is understandable. However, in the light of information now emerging one can perhaps understand the view expressed by Barry Schoub of the South African Advisory Committee on Covid vaccines, who said of the travel ban “ It’s a punitive measure against the economy of South Africa”. More worryingly he then suggested that this might be a disincentive to reporting emerging variants. Omnicon has now been found in 24 countries, the numbers are doubling in South Africa every 24 hours. It could soon become dominant globally. It illustrates two things, firstly how rapidly things could change and secondly that this is truly a global phenomenon. We should all pay heed to the World Health Organisation and urge all our politicians to do the same.