Omicron is just another villain we must fight

When it burst upon the scene this week, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 seemed the perfect villain.

Experts speculated that it appeared to be highly transmissible. More important, it appeared to be unusually open to mutation. Did this mean it could become impervious to existing vaccines? The experts said they didn’t know. But the best advice that leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, could come up with was not reassuring. It was: Don’t panic.

Omicron “is a cause of concern,” Biden said this week, but “not a cause for panic.”

“There may be more we need to do,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said after his government imposed travel restrictions on flights from a handful of countries where Omicron had appeared. “We will be looking at it carefully.”

Which is a Canadian way of saying: Don’t panic. Indeed, there is no reason to panic. Scientists know little about Omicron. It may turn out to be a lot less dangerous than it seems. But until that is clear, experts say governments would be wise to treat this variant carefully.

Canada, for instance, will require all travellers entering the country by air to be tested for COVID-19 — unless they are coming from the U.S. The U.S. exemption is a huge loophole that promises to render the testing requirement virtually useless. But at least we are not panicking.

Governments are already promoting so-called booster shots of the anti-COVID vaccines. Ontario, for instance, is set to offer third shots to anyone over 50.

As the New York Times has reported, officialdom’s love affair with revaccination took on new urgency once Omicron entered the scene — even though there is no obvious link tying the new variant to booster shots.

Still, Omicron remains the perfect villain — highly transmissible and open to mutation. Even if it turns out to be a dud, it reminds us of the COVID virus’s ability to surprise.

Here in Ontario, we had thought we had the thing if not licked, then at least under control. Kids were going back to school; the subways were running; bars and restaurants were open once more. And now, poof: A reminder that little has changed. We are still at the mercy of a merciless foe.

We may have survived the Delta variant. But it remains a danger. Certainly, there is no guarantee we will survive Omicron — or whatever follows it. So we have to keep on fighting. That means vaccination for everyone who is eligible. It also means avoiding most air travel.

It probably also means avoiding family get-togethers — a real hardship in the holiday and Christmas seasons, but one that is necessary. If we can do this, we should be able to deal with the latest variant of this terrible disease and, with luck, ensure it remains a villain whose time has not yet come.