Need immediate vaccine mandating

We are back to counting cases and variants as the spectre of Omi-cron haunts the world. But the responses, including many in India, have been short-sighted, full of counterproductive panic and reminiscent of some of the early mistakes of 2020.

- BARKHA DUTT

Except, today we have many more tools to fight the virus—knowledge of its airborne nature, confirmation that masks in closed indoor places can help, awareness that opening a window can make a difference in a classroom, therapeutic pills of varying success, and above all, vaccines.

Dr Angelique Coetzee, the South African doctor who first detected Omicron, told me she found it on a random rapid-antigen test. That in itself should be a warning against the needless RT-PCR tests travellers are being subjected to at both departure and destination, creating a mass congregation at airports themselves.