"The variant keeps me up at night a little bit because it has 32 mutations in the spike protein, in contrast to the Delta mutation.

But it's not just the mutations. In terms of biological plausibility, it's plausible that it could be more evasive against immunity. Not just vaccines, but potentially reinfection.

What really worries me is seeing the signals line up in the wrong way. It first started in Botswana, but it's surging not just in one part of South Africa, but across six different provinces in South Africa, all at once."

Eric Feigl-Ding is an epidemiologist and health economist. He can be reached on Twitter @DrEricDing.

He shares his story and discusses the new COVID Omicron variant.