Omicron: Are gov’ts prepared to deal with a new COVID variant?

Countries around the world were starting to reopen their borders and lift COVID-19 restrictions. But a new variant is now threatening to derail the progress made in the past few months.

Several nations have already imposed travel restrictions to and from Southern Africa, where the Omicron variant was first detected.

The World Health Organization says it poses a high global risk.

Little is known about the new strain, but there are fears it may be highly infectious and more resistant to vaccines.

Just under two years since the pandemic was declared, it shows no signs of ending.

So, how should countries prepare?

Presenter: Dareen Abughaida

Guests:

Dr Deepti Gurdasani – Senior Lecturer, Queen Mary University of London

Dr Ahmed Ogwell Ouma – Deputy Director, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention

Michael Jacobs – Professor of Political Economy, University of Sheffield