The song that doesn’t end is your invitation.
There’s now a new COVID-19 variant that the World Health Organization (WHO) is meeting over today.
It was recognized in South Africa, and the concern is that appears the most “heavily mutated variant” so far.
How does this translate?
According to the UK Health Security Agency, the variant is B.1.1.529 and contains a spike protein which was significantly different from the coronavirus original that COVID-19 vaccines were based upon.
READ: https://t.co/K6BnSiPMsC pic.twitter.com/1mOETqLY0R
— GMA News (@gmanews) November 26, 2021
The Guardian
The variant has more than 30 mutations on its spike protein – the key used by the virus to unlock our body’s cells – more than double the number carried by Delta. There are concerns that previous vaccinations and infections might not have been able to match the mutations in this variant. Purely based on knowing the list of mutations, scientists anticipate that the virus will be more likely to infect – or reinfect – people who have immunity to earlier variants.
Oh, joy.
It also seems “highly contagious among young people .” Of course, so it picks up where the original left off and just in time for the vaccine push for kids.
British officials announced Friday that they would ban flights from South Africa, five southern African countries and one other country. Anyone who arrived in those countries recently will be required to undergo a coronavirus testing.
U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said there were concerns the new variant “may be more transmissible” than the dominant delta strain, and “the vaccines that we currently have may be less effective” against it.
According to Reuters Grant Shapps was the British transportation secretary and called for the change. He said the spike protein was “dramatically different” from the virus that the vaccines were designed to counter.
Israel already has one case, and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said they’re close to declaring a state of emergency. Hong Kong has also detected two cases.
As this hit people, this is what is driving markets to crash today.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has so far dropped 900 points, as the new COVID variant sparked a market sell-off, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite sliding 1.8% and 1.5%, respectively, according to CNBC.
You might be wrong if you thought we were done because cases were declining again. It looks like they’re gearing up again for the next variant. Even though they just announced it, they’re already suggesting that immunity and the vaccines that we have may not be sufficient to deal with it. Expect governments — once again — to use it as a reason to freak out and re-impose more restrictions on people around the world.
Add that to Biden’s rising inflation that just saw one of the most expensive Thanksgivings ever and the cratering polls Biden has now may look like a high point, come the future.
I was reminded of Shari Lewis’ classic Lamb Chop, which made me reflect on this thought this morning.
“This is the song that doesn’t end, yes it goes on and on, my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, but they’ll continue singing it forever just because.”
We know the answer now. We can just stop singing the song now and turn it off.
About Post Author
