Left, Right & Centre

On Left, Right and Centre, we speak to a member of the African COVID Task Force, Prof Salim S Abdool Karim, on Omicron variant. He said, "generally, viruses evolve to becoming less severe," but cautioned that "one must be very careful in interpreting anecdotal and preliminary data."

In the time of Omicron, what are the experiences of travellers who've been stuck waiting for RT-PCR test results at airports for hours before they can exit as per the new rules. On Left, Right and Centre, we speak with one such passenger.

As the new Covid strain 'Omicron' raises alarm across the globe, Adar Poonawalla, the chief of Serum Institute of India which manufactures COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, in an exclusive interview to NDTV said that Omicron-specific booster shots are possible and added that the focus of the government must remain to get everyone double vaccinated.

India's top biomedical scientist Dr Gagandeep Kang explains what could be the factors that make the new coronavirus strain, Omicron, a variant of concern. Omicron has more mutations than any other variant seen in the past, Dr Kang told NDTV.

Vinamra Longani Head of Operations at Sarin And Co spoke to NDTV on new rules for international travellers as the overall global risk linked to Omicron is "very high".

Dr NK Arora, Executive Director, INCLEN, and Covid panel chief spoke to NDTV on the Omicron variant as countries are shutting down international air travel, even as evidence indicates that Omicron has already spread far and wide.

A special show, a global town house with some of the finest minds on the new Covid variant - including NDTV's Sonia Singh's exclusive interview with Dr Angelique Coetzee, the South African doctor who raised the Omicron alert. She says there are indicators that this strain results in mild infection. But the world is, clearly, not taking any chances. Countries are now shutting down international air travel, even as evidence indicates that Omicron has already spread far and wide. Is it here in India so far? We don't know yet.

Just when we thought we are winning the war against coronavirus, the World Health Organisation designated the new 'Omicron' strain as a Variant of Concern. With 'Omicron' spreading fast and cases being reported in at least nine countries, is India prepared to deal with a possible outbreak? Top experts join us on this weekend edition of Left, Right and Centre.

Comedian Munawar Faruqui has been shut down once again, even before his performance. This time in Bengaluru. With his 12 shows cancelled in the last two months over threats from right-wing groups, Munawar Faruqui says "I'm done". Is this truly the India that we want?

"Sampling methods as well as amount of genome sequencing are important, it will be critical to keep strengthening that (to fight new variants)," said World Health Organisation's Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan in an exclusive interview to NDTV.