The Truth Behind the Omicron Variant

Six weeks ago, I published the blog titled The Concealed Truths of the COVID Pandemic. Since then, so many important events have transpired that I felt an update was warranted.

New Kid on the Block

On November 24th 2021, the Omicron variant was identified in South Africa¹. Since then, it spread quickly around the globe and is now the prominent variant in most areas².

Like clockwork, the corporate media jumped to wrap speed, hyping the variant to the point of panic. A perfect example is how New York’s Governor, Kathy Hochul, declared a state of emergency just four days after Omicron was identified and prior to a single positive case in her state³.

There can be no doubt that Covid cases have skyrocketed since Omicron’s discovery. Cases are up just about everywhere in the world. In my home state of Georgia, daily cases are roughly doubled when compared to this time last year⁴. But is all of the hysteria warranted or is this much to do about nothing?

The Fastest EVER!!!

Within a couple of weeks, Omicron became the majority of positive PCR tests. The media claimed that it was the fastest spreading virus in history⁵. This claim is so laughable that I’m embarrassed for any new organization that spread this absurdity.

It is true that the variant was identified on Nov 24th. However, in order to be identified on that date, it had to already exist. In reality, nobody knows when the variant came into existence. It could have easily existed for days, weeks, or months spreading around the world. Since its sequence was unknown, tests would have identified the variant as ‘regular’ Covid.

I have no doubt that blood banks will eventually find that blood taken prior to Nov 24th and in locations other than South Africa had the Omicron variant. But this research takes months and the news will have moved on the latest outrage of the day. The simple fact is that all modern air-borne viruses spread rapidly because of air travel and extensive trade networks. This is an inevitable side effect of globalization and not some special or magical trait of Covid.

But What about Cases?

It amazes me how government, media, and the public obsess over cases. Cases have to be the most meaningless statistic imaginable. Just think about the recently popularized term ‘asymptomatic‘, which means a person tests positive but has no symptoms. Asymptomatic positives fall into the same bucket of cases as somebody laid up in bed for weeks. Hospitalizations and deaths, on the other hand, are much more meaningful stats. Even though these numbers are more important, they also include many dubious positives (aka. from Covid vs. with Covid)⁶.

Another issue with measuring cases is that the more thoroughly an area tests, the more people will test positive. A good example of this phenomenon is the difference in official cases between India and the United States. Anybody remotely familiar with geography knows that India has the most population on Earth (four times the US) crammed into a country the size of the Eastern US. Yet, despite their overwhelming margin in population, India has consistently reported less cases than the US. The only reasonable explanation is simple: the US tests more.

Speaking of testing, ever since Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate, millions of unvaccinated workers were forced in to weekly testing just to keep their jobs⁷. This unnecessary and coercive testing has inevitably increased positive test counts.

The Supreme Court Finally Makes a Ruling

Whether you like or dislike the make up of the Supreme Court, it is clear that the modern court does not want to make bold or controversial rulings. Instead, the court prefers that Congress makes the hard choices. Their reluctance to impose constitutional constraints on the other two branches was on full display with the rulings against Biden’s federal vaccine mandates⁸.

The Court ruled 6-3 against Biden’s executive order that forced vaccines or weekly testing for federal contractors. Clearly trying to avoid though decisions, however, the court also ruled 5-4 that Medicare could force hospitals to require vaccination. Legally speaking, there is no difference between the two rulings: neither mandate was remotely constitutional.

The real take away in these cases is that the court is open to the government taking away the natural right to peacefully earn a living. To quote the court, it ruled against the mandate because it lacked “clear congressional authorization.” This means that if Congress had passed a law equivalent to Biden’s executive order, then they would have been fine with its legality. Crazy! Simply crazy! Shame on any justice that is fine with taking away natural rights in the name of Covid, or any other virus for that matter.

Where are all the Dead Bodies?

The relentless spread of Covid continues. It should be obvious by now that Covid will spread despite the availability of vaccines. In fact, it is likely that vaccines place evolutionary pressure on the virus to mutate⁹.

But can’t they update the vaccine? Yes they can. Pfizer recently announced that a vaccine for Omicron will be available in March of 2022¹⁰. By March, however, I anticipate that Omicron will have already burned itself out and daily infections rates will be significantly lower than winter peaks. It is still too early to predict any type of yearly patterns, but to me, it is beginning to resemble yearly influenza patterns.

Although Omicron has clearly increased cases, deaths from Covid continue to fall¹¹. Hopefully, this trend will persist for it is still too early to write off the killing power of the new variant.

Conclusion

Covid continues to be a nasty virus that spreads to all and kills the old and/or vulnerable. Omicron is simply the next chapter in the pandemic’s story. But despite the fact that Omicron appears mild compared to other variants, the media keeps creating fear and panic. The government uses this fear to expand its powers and to bail out special interests.

In the end, the pandemic, and the government response to it, will soldier on. For all of those hoping that Covid would just go away, that seems all but impossible now. Covid has become a part of our daily lives. The quicker we collectively realize this truth, the quicker we can return to normal.