*Omicron has entered the chat.*
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 29 November 2021
⏱️ ? minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Omicron, a new variant of the coronavirus, could be the next big hurdle in beating the pandemic. Today on Post Reports, what we know so far, and why you shouldn’t panic just yet.
Read more:
Last week, a new coronavirus variant was detected in southern Africa. Since then, public health officials and government leaders have been trying to figure out what’s next. Some countries have reinstated travel bans, while others are urging people not to panic.
While as of Monday there were no known cases in the United States, President Biden said that “sooner or later we’re going to see cases of this new variant here.”
Reporter Dan Diamond explains what we know about the omicron variant and why you should proceed with caution but not panic. We also talk about what this new variant reveals about tensions between countries where vaccines are widely available and those where they’re not.
Relatedly, Post Reports recently aired an interview with Dr. Fauci. He talked about booster shots, and why he thinks all eligible Americans should be getting them. You can listen to that episode here.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey there, it's Martine. |
| 0:03.8 | Before we start the show, I need to tell you one more time about this incredible deal |
| 0:08.0 | for a subscription to the Washington Post. |
| 0:10.7 | Until the end of the month, you can subscribe to the post for just 99 cents every four weeks. |
| 0:16.1 | Or for just $9.99, you can give a one year subscription as a gift to a friend or family member. |
| 0:23.2 | This is the best deal that we've ever offered, and it's almost over. |
| 0:26.9 | Go to WashingtonPost.com, slash subscribe, before the end of November. |
| 0:31.1 | Okay, onto the show. |
| 0:33.6 | So, Dan Diamond's Health Reporter for the Post. |
| 0:36.9 | I don't know about your Thanksgiving, but on my Thanksgiving day, I was reflecting on how grateful I was |
| 0:43.9 | that things with the pandemic were finally turning around, that I was getting to be with my family. |
| 0:49.0 | At that point, I was blissfully unaware that there was even a letter in the Greek alphabet |
| 0:54.3 | called Omicron. I actually had never heard of that. |
| 0:58.2 | But now, in just a few days, it feels like everything has turned upside down with this new variant. |
| 1:04.2 | I had a similar Thanksgiving experience where I was the rain cloud at everyone's picnic. |
| 1:10.0 | But if I have to confess this to, first I was like, is that a transformer? |
| 1:15.4 | But then I realized I was thinking of Unicron from the Transformers movie when I was growing up. |
| 1:28.3 | In the last few days, the emergence of a new COVID variant called Omicron has taken over the headlines. |
| 1:34.7 | Public health officials have been putting out dire warnings, countries, or reinstating travel |
| 1:39.6 | bands. People seem to be gearing up for the worst. But there's this big gap right now between what we |
| 1:45.4 | fear and what we actually know about Omicron and about how it may or may not change the course of |
| 1:51.0 | the pandemic. From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. I'm Martine Powers. |
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