I call on the nations gathering next week for the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting to meet the U.S. challenge to waive intellectual property protections for COVID vaccines, so these vaccines can be manufactured globally. The president said that this news reiterates the importance of moving quickly.
The new variant was identified in South Africa. South African scientists said it was to blame for the recent surge in the province. The new variant has been seen in travelers to Belgium, Hong Kong, and Israel.
A World Health Organization panel named the variant "omicron" and said early evidence suggests an increased risk of infections. It has been labeled a highly transmissible variant of concern. There is no evidence that the omicron variant causes more severe disease.
The world's largest public database has Delta as the majority of sequence.
Medical experts warned against overreacting. There are other concerns that never spread as quickly as delta did.
After almost two years of Covid, world leaders were quick to respond with new restrictions. Travel stocks fell after health officials in Europe and the U.K. restricted travel from South Africa. The S&P 500 was on pace for its worst day since the winter surge in February, as the index fell more than 1,000 points on Friday. The price of oil fell because of fear of another global economic downturn.
