We are all going to die (again)…

Omicron is all over the media, much to the surprise of Angelique Coetzee the South African doctor who first discovered the new strain.

South African Dr Angelique Coetzee first raised the alarm over the Omicron variant and says the rest of the world is over-reacting.

"Patients I've seen had mild symptoms and recovered. None were admitted and no oxygen was needed. The hype makes no sense to at all."@JuliaHB1 pic.twitter.com/c14pbzveN6

— talkRADIO (@talkRADIO) November 29, 2021

Fear sells and the media have really gone to town on this one. Here is a quote from the Daily Mail:

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

That is actually a quote from the book of revelations but you get the gist. The new mantra is we need to ‘save Christmas’, especially from the woke brigade.

#DailyMail front page from 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2010 2005 2000 1999 1989 1889 1789 1489……#ChristmasBanned pic.twitter.com/7ygRfruUtI

— Frank Roberts (@FrankRo60642989) November 28, 2021

Maybe the new strain will turn out to be a problem, but my strategy is to panic when Luke O’Neill or someone else half sensible panics:

First case reports of Omicron- mild in otherwise healthy people- adds to hope that it may not be more dangerous overall- more data needed however https://t.co/bZe5AXuAWi

— Luke O'Neill (@laoneill111) November 27, 2021

If ever there was a time for turning off the news and doing something else it is now. I have been enjoying the Wheel of Time TV series on Amazon Prime.

We are all going to die, but hopefully not for a while yet.

Brian O'Neill

I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.