Déjà déjà vu

As Omicron variant takes hold around the world, infections rise precipitously in countries with early warnings (note SA numbers, below).
Worldwide (Map) 
December 2, 2021 – 263,714,700 confirmed infections; 5,228,300 deaths
November 25, 2021 – 259,820,000 confirmed infections; 5,180,150 deaths
Total vaccine doses administered to date: 8,065,253,309
US (Map) 

December 2, 2021 – 48,696,400 confirmed infections; 782,120 deaths
November 25, 2021 –48,107,120 confirmed infections; 775,630 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal) 
December 2, 2021 – 2,976,615 confirmed infections; 89,871 deaths
November 25, 2021 – 2,950,035 confirmed infections; 89,660 deaths
New cases in 28 days: 53,878

News blues

SA: new Covid cases double in 24 hours  and facts and figures....
US: President Biden addresses Americans on Omicron (14:44 mins) Summarize: get your shot if you haven’t yet or get your booster if you have….
First case of Omicron in US found in San Francisco >> 
Germany: as infection rates increase, Germany second on highest cases list, right behind the US with 1,314,558 cases in 28 days; 6,014,334 infections and 102,257 deaths. “Acting German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chancellor-designate Olaf Scholzspoke with state leaders and agreed on new measures to curb a dramatic spike in coronavirus cases.”  The result? “Germany to impose lockdown on unvaccinated: Merkel says unvaccinated to be excluded from non-essential shops and venues, jabs could be mandatory from February.” 
UK: while the UK has suffered with Covid overall, numbers of new infections rise. UK Covid restrictions change >> 

Overall? Don’t panic. Practice safety protocols – vaccination, masks, social distance, wash hands – stay in touch with friends and family, and keep abreast of the latest news. WHO states, “It is not yet clear whether infection with Omicron causes more severe disease compared to infections with other variants, including Delta. 
One reason for optimism on Omicron variant: our immune systems are not blank slates. People with some immune protections may avoid the worst of what Covid infections can do to immunologically naïve people.

The emergence of a new Covid-19 variant with a startlingly large constellation of mutations has countries around the world sounding alarms. While the concerns are understandable, experts in immunology say people need to remember a critical fact: Two years and 8 billion vaccine doses into the pandemic, many immune systems are no longer blank slates when it comes to SARS-CoV-2.
“Dealing with naïve [never vaccinated] people is never the same as if you have some memory. It’s never like [being back at] square one,” Ali Ellebedy, according to associate professor of pathology and immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “The virus is going to not find it as easy compared to the situation in January 2020 or December 2019. It’s just completely different now.”
Read more >> 

Where did Omicron come from?

…some scientists have an alternative theory for where the latest variant of concern, Omicron, may have acquired the unusual mutations that stud its spike protein.
They speculate the virus could have evolved in another animal species.
The theory goes that some type of animal, potentially rodents, was infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus sometime in mid-2020. In this new species, the virus evolved, accumulating roughly 50 mutations on the spike protein before spilling back over into people.
Kristian Andersen, an immunologist at the Scripps Research Institute, is among those who has been raising the idea that Omicron may have emerged from a reverse zoonotic event.
Read more >> 

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The Lincoln Project Last week in the Republican Party  (1:45 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Time for a dash  of good news:

The Farne Islands are home to one of England’s largest grey seal colonies and have the longest history of seal pup counting. This week National Trust rangers – helped for the first time by thermal imagery technology – were completing a crucial count, which did not take place last year because of the pandemic.
In 1956 there were 751 pups counted. In 2019 there were 2,823. This year, the expectation is that there will be many more, making it a record year for grey seals on the islands.
“It is looking that way,” said Bevan, a senior lecturer at Newcastle University. “Some of the outer island groups look incredibly dense.”
Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Pelicans doing well in my neck of the beach…

All photos (c) S. Galleymore