Just when we were about to say adieu to COVID-19 and its attendant drawbacks a South African scientist discovered a mutation of the virus.
Scientists have been compelled to return to the labs to learn more about the newcomer even before exhausting their studies on the current strain of the virus.
Although the lady scientist behind the discovery has described the measures taken by some countries in the West in the face of the mutation as hasty, we hasten to state though that in matters of health such actions are better than being taken off-guard.
South Africa has especially fumed at the travel restrictions imposed on her by European countries fretting over why she should be punished rather than be lauded for being transparent about the discovery.
The new variant brings into focus once more the issue of balanced distribution of the vaccines across the world and the dispensation of the jabs.
Be it as it may the rich Western countries, origins of vaccine production, have been largely stingy with the distribution of the preventive jabs.
Humanity under the circumstances should have come together more than we are seeing to fight a common a health threat whose fallouts on the global economy and even the existence of mankind are enormous.
Vaccine apartheid or even stinginess, which prevailed until the COVAX initiative under the aegis of the World Health Organisation (WHO) was rolled out has had telling consequences on the mutability of the virus so far. Indeed the WHO intervention has endured its distribution limitation. Some countries unable to access the vaccines sufficiently while some are saturated with millions of doses.
The world of course will not be safe when access to vaccines is limited to the wealthy nations leaving the poor or struggling to pick from the crumbs.
With herd immunity or saturated vaccination out of the reach of especially the developing world, we are left at the mercy of a virus mutating in myriad forms and befuddling scientists.
With knowledge about the new variant expected in the next weeks, it is better to be on the safe side by being cautious without panicking and taking harsh measures.
We should just observe the heightened COVID-19 hygiene protocols and pray that the knowledge that would emerge would be one which endorses the current vaccines as effective antidotes and allays the fears about the stranger.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) as they have always been will be on top of it all especially when we listen to their advice and do as we are told.
We are confident that state agents on duty at our entry points will be on top of their jobs as they have always been as more is learnt about Omicron.