I am bored with omicron already.
Things have moved along nicely with my planning for 2022. On my last trip to Blantyre, I worked very hard with my Malawian co-workers to get our clinical trial ready to recruit patients somewhere between late January and early March. I rented a home in which to live. Things were looking very positive.
Then omicron. A few days ago, scientists in South Africa let the world know they had detected a new COVID variant. They did not know much about it, other than it had multiple mutations. Did it even make people ill? All was unclear. The variant had traveled to Europe, Canada, and a single case in Israel.
Reflexively, the world snapped its borders shut. Flights between Europe and South Africa stopped. The United States barred entry to any non-US citizen who had visited one of seven southern African countries during the last 14 days. US citizens had to go through stringent entry procedures to return to the USA. Malawi was included in the list, despite being the possible origin of one case, someone from Israel who returned with the variant. The variant was not detected in Malawi itself.
My hope is that people implementing national travel policies and restrictions realize that “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is not only a religious phrase, but one they need to consider in their professional lives as well.
The scientists and politicians in southern Africa protested. They had, in good faith, released scientific information and the world responded by banning them. Today the government of Malawi released a directive detailing stringent new measures to enter its borders. The country, after all, has very low COVID transmission. They are Level 1. Was today’s Malawian response a quid pro quo for the poor treatment being offered by other countries to its citizens? I do not know. I do know that I agree with the Malawians and South Africans.
The response of the world to omicron is very likely counterproductive. Coronaviruses frequently mutate. When this occurs again in the future, it might be tempting for information about the detection of a new mutation not to be released until the mutant had spread worldwide. Don’t scoff. The world is witnessing how southern Africa is being treated after releasing scientific information in good faith. Next time, should we expect the world to react differently?
I am not a public health official. They are under tremendous pressure and are obviously looking at things differently than I-am-so-bored-with-COVID me. My hope is that people implementing national travel policies and restrictions realize that “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is not only a religious phrase, but one they need to consider in their professional lives as well.
