Guest: Alex Boyd, Calgary-based reporter for the Toronto Star

The latest Omicron variant has starkly reminded the world about what global health advocates have been shouting about for more than a year – if vaccines aren't shared, the virus and its variants will spread. Canada has followed dozens of other countries in announcing more travel bans on African countries, and many in South Africa are feeling like they're being punished for alerting the world about Omicron. And just as it came made its presence known in the pandemic, Star reporter Alex Boyd was travelling across Africa to report on exactly these issues. She made it back to Canada from South Africa right under the wire, just hours ahead of the travel ban. She joins "This Matters" to talk about Canada's initial quarantine confusion and how vaccine inequality in the Global South is connected to what's unfolding now.