Forbes - Omicron in the U.K.

Plus: New York mask mandate takes effect

The United Kingdom reported its first known death caused by infection with the omicron variant of the Covid-19 coronavirus. That country is now bracing itself for a potential wave of infections caused by the new variant, and it has raised its Covid threat level from 3 to 4. Over the weekend, researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine projected that the new variant could potentially raise the death toll in the U.K. by as many as 75,000 people if the government doesn’t take a stronger role in slowing the spread of the virus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is encouraging people to get vaccinated and for those eligible for boosters to get those as well. He also refused to rule out tougher restrictions to contain the omicron variant, which now comprises about 40% of all cases in London. 

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What Else We Are Reading

• COVID Is Driving a Children’s Mental Health Emergency (Scientific American)

• This new COVID vaccine uses plants as factories for viral proteins (Popular Science)

• What Has Omicron Changed? (The New Yorker)