The whole world was finally letting its guard down and working towards establishing a new sense of ease and normalcy when news of a highly dangerous mutation of the COVID19 virus was discovered in South Africa. The Omicron variant also wrongly referred to as the “South African Variant” is considered to be far more easily transmittable than other existing versions.

New studies from South Africa also tell us that the newly discovered variant has been responsible for the increasing number of hospitalizations in the country. There have also been reports that the age group of those that are being affected by this virus is comparatively younger than previous versions.

The United Nations has tried to quell fears about the variant by putting out an official statement that read – There is currently no information to suggest that symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those from other variants. Initial reported infections were among university students—younger individuals who tend to have more mild disease—but understanding the level of severity of the Omicron variant will take days to several weeks. All variants of COVID-19, including the Delta variant that is dominant worldwide, can cause severe disease or death, in particular for the most vulnerable people, and thus prevention is always key.

With the lack of clarity in the symptoms or direct effects of getting affected by the new virus, speculations and rumours are running wild with misinformation being spread faster than the Omicron variant.

What had added to the fears among the general public has been reports that the current vaccines which a good chunk of the general population around the world have taken might not be effective against the new variant. While almost all major vaccine producers around the world had confidently claimed that their vaccine was effective against the earlier Delta variant, they do not seem too confident against the Omicron variant.

This has added to the argument being put forward by the anti-vaxxers that vaccines in general are ineffective and that no one should be forced to take them. The discussions around booster shots for those who have been fully vaccinated have also come to a standstill until governments receive a formal statement from the medical community on what the most effective way forward would be.

As of now, countries are beginning to close borders, restrict travel and have been doing contact tracing to identify travellers from high-risk countries. They have also been advising people to continue to wear masks, maintain social distancing and wash hands regularly or use sanitiser.

In between all this uncertainty, a group in the United States of America who call themselves the Proud Rednecks of America (PRA) have decided to take to the streets to demand an American version of the COVID19 virus.

We talked to the leader of the group of 15 people who had decided to step out into the street of Huntsville, Alabama in their Ford trucks and play Kid Rock songs at a disturbingly high volume.

“We love ‘Murica. We believe that we are the best country in the world but we have been slipping. It takes a lot of courage and love for your country to accept that we are not where we should be,” said 44-year-old Rodney Jackson who also refuses to wear a mask.

“What we have been doing does not make sense. The Chinese created the original virus and gave the world SARS. Saudi Arabia then launched their version called MERS. The Chinese then launched a better version called the Wuhan virus which we are all still suffering from 2 years later. Seeing the success of the Wuhan Virus, India launched their version and called it Delta. Guess what, now South Africa also has their version.”

Rodney told us that he was not racist but can’t help see a pattern. He used a few terms which we find highly derogatory to publish here even with...