Omicron Called 'Biggest Threat' to World Health

Biden warns of 'winter of illness and death' for the unvaccinated
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 17, 2021 10:12 AM CST
Omicron Called 'Biggest Threat' to World Health
Presiden Biden speaks as he meets with members of the White House COVID-19 Response Team in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The omicron COVID variant is now the "biggest threat to global public health," health ministers from Group of Seven countries agreed at a meeting Thursday. A statement issued by the UK, which currently holds the G7 presidency, described developments as "very worrying" and said it is "more important than ever to closely cooperate, and monitor as well as share data," Politico reports. President Biden also issued a dire warning during a meeting of his COVID task force Thursday, saying "we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death" for unvaccinated Americans, the Washington Post reports.

Biden urged unvaccinated people to get the shot and said vaccinated people shouldn't delay getting a booster. The omicron variant, he said, is "going to start to spread much more rapidly at the beginning of the year, and the only real protection is to get your shot." More:

  • Next year might be "more of the same." Experts say the rapid spread of omicron has dashed hopes that many countries would emerge from the pandemic next year, reports Reuters. They say the worst might not be over until far more of the world has been either vaccinated or exposed to COVID. "People are sick of the pandemic and God knows I am, but unless we can get some urgency to compel our leaders to take action, I really see 2022 being a lot of more of the same that we saw in 2021," says Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan.
  • US workplaces take a step backward. With cases rising sharply in the US, many workplaces in New York City and elsewhere are canceling holiday parties and rolling back plans to have more employees return to the office, the New York Times reports.
  • Scotland faces "most severe challenges yet." In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Friday that omicron is now the country's most dominant strain and the health service is facing its "most severe challenges yet," the Guardian reports. Sturgeon, who urged people to stay home as much as possible, said the rise of omicron has been "the cruelest of blows," but people should "hold onto hope"—and "look out for each other and be kind."
(More COVID-19 stories.)

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