Premium: World watches SA scientists on Omicron – appears more contagious, less deadly

Some days you're the pigeon, some days you're the statue. The recording of an interview I had this week with Discovery's Adrian Gore presenting the case FOR mandatory vaccines (click here or above) has been viewed half as many times as one with Sakeliga's Piet le Roux and Russell Lamberti AGAINST the idea..Equally passionate has been outrage from my countrymen as the Western World moved at warp speed to isolate the country after SA scientists uncovered the new Omicron variant of Covid-19. This self-righteous anger, however, might have been premature..Although the variant may well have initially been imported into SA, there is now little question the country has become Omicron's global hotspot. That dubious honour enables local scientists to take advantage of abundant data. Unfortunately, this is a double edged sword..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.As the WSJ article below explains, SA researchers have discovered Omicron can get past natural immunity acquired by previously infected Covid patients. So SA's borders are unlikely to be re-opened anytime soon. The good news, though, is although more easily transmissible, this variant appears to be less dangerous. That helped Mr Market regain some composure with Wall Street rebounding strongly last night. Small blessings..More for you to read today….* Turkey's Erdogan Names Loyalist as Finance Minister Amid Lira Rout. Appointment of Nureddin Nebati, a former deputy finance minister, puts presidential loyalist atop finance ministry. Implications for ZAR..* Didi Global Plans to Delist From New York Stock Exchange. Five months after its $4.4bn IPO Chinese ride-hailing giant says it plans to pursue a listing in Hong Kong, nudged by Beijing..* US Federal Trade Commission launches court action to block Nvidia's $40bn acquisition of Arm Holdings. The agency alleges the semiconductor deal is anticompetitive..* In Ghislaine Maxwell Trial, Jeffrey Epstein's Former House Manager Gives Glimpse Into Life Inside His Estate. Prosecutors alleged that Ms. Maxwell created a culture of silence as she helped Epstein traffic and abuse young girls.NB FOR YOUR WALL STREET JOURNAL ACCESS….As a Premium subscriber you are entitled to full membership of wsj.com (normal price $29 a month). Be sure to action your access through the Premium link on the BizNews website. Because of The Wall Street Journal's credential requirements, be sure to create a password which has at least 8 characters and includes at least one letter and one number – NB it MAY NOT contain any special characters (ie #, !, @ etc). To maintain access to WSJ.com, you MUST enter our partner's website via BizNews Premium at least once a month. A final PS, if you had previously signed up for WSJ you'll need to clear the cookies from your device. Our help desk can assist – support@biznews.com..If you'd like to help sustain our independent voice, why not share the love by making a gift that keeps giving? Click here to access the BizNews Premium subscription signup form, and be sure tick the relevant box. At R100 a month and inclusive of full membership of The Wall Street Journal, it's a mind-expanding gift at an incredibly modest price.

Premium: World watches SA scientists on Omicron – appears more contagious, less deadly

Related Stories

Meet Tshepo Mahloele – Big Capitec shareholder, ABSIP’s “CEO of the Decade” now accused by Holomisa as kingpin of corrupt network

PREMIUM: Making of a great editor – the George Palmer playbook

Premium – BizNews global portfolio: ASML joins – so does Adobe as Bull takes hold again

Alec Hogg: Helen Zille predicts SA choice will be DA or EFF