Kustin, T., Harel, N., Finkel, U., Perchik, S., Harari, S., Tahor, M., Caspi, I., Levy, R., Leschinsky, M., Dror, S. K., Bergerzon, G., Gadban, H., Gadban, F., Eliassian, E., Shimron, O., Saleh, L., Ben-Zvi, H., Amichay, D., Ben-Dor, A., … Stern, A. (2021). Evidence for increased breakthrough rates of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in BNT162b2 mRNA vaccinated individuals. MedRxiv, 2021.04.06.21254882. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.06.21254882

Beaumont, P. (2021, December 17). T-cells in Pfizer Covid jab recipients stay robust against severe illness. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/17/t-cells-pfizer-covid-jab-robust-against-severe-illness-south-africa-research

Torjesen, I. (2021). Covid-19: Omicron may be more transmissible than other variants and partly resistant to existing vaccines, scientists fear. BMJ, 375, n2943. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n2943

Davis, N., & Sample, I. (2021, November 29). UK science advisers brace for hundreds of confirmed Omicron Covid cases. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/29/uk-scientific-advisers-brace-confirmed-omicron-covid-cases

SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation. (2021). 45.

ReconfigBehSci. (2021, December 14). RT @thehowie: BREAKING South Africa: 82% increase in cases, week over week. 34.9% positive rate. Record 7-day average. Not near platea… [Tweet]. @SciBeh. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1470814593610047490

ReconfigBehSci. (2021, December 13). Important update on the now withdrawn @BallouxFrancois tweet identifying hopeful turning of the corner in SA omicron data [Tweet]. @SciBeh. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1470311016114364420

John Burn-Murdoch. (2021, November 25). Five quick tweets on the new variant B.1.1.529 Caveat first: Data here is very preliminary, so everything could change. Nonetheless, better safe than sorry. 1) Based on the data we have, this variant is out-competing others far faster than Beta and even Delta did 🚩🚩 https://t.co/R2Ac4e4N6s [Tweet]. @jburnmurdoch. https://twitter.com/jburnmurdoch/status/1463956686075580421

CNN, I. K. (n.d.). Vaccine inequity and hesitancy made the Omicron variant more likely, scientists say. CNN. Retrieved December 23, 2021, from https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/28/world/omicron-coronavirus-variant-vaccine-inequity-intl-cmd/index.html

ReconfigBehSci on Twitter: “RT @chrischirp: As well as Tom’s new one (B.1.1.529), C.1.2 seems to be spreading in S Africa—C.1.2 was the one with lots of worrying mut…” / Twitter. (n.d.). Retrieved December 23, 2021, from https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1463597407082532864

ReconfigBehSci. (2021, December 11). RT @thehowie: BREAKING: Hospitalizations South Africa Hospitalizations⬆️67% week over week. Gauteng Province⬆️66%. GP⬆️1.6% from yesterd… [Tweet]. @SciBeh. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1469685234149072897

Perspective | Even the best-case scenario with omicron will still be bad. (n.d.). Washington Post. Retrieved December 23, 2021, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/12/21/omicron-mild-cases-numbers/

ReconfigBehSci. (2021, November 27). RT @_HassanF: 📢 2 key 📑 resources, if you writing about us in Africa right now: Africa-Vaccine Data 2021: Https://mediahack.co.za/datastories/coronavirus/africa-covid19/africa-vaccinations/ @mediah… [Tweet]. @SciBeh. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1464683668631392257

ReconfigBehSci. (2021, December 11). RT @thehowie: BREAKING: South Africa: Week over week increase of only 4.8% today. 16.4% positive rate is near half of recent levels. 36… [Tweet]. @SciBeh. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1469945163615129602

ReconfigBehSci [@SciBeh]. (2021, November 26). RT @mvankerkhove: I thank researchers from 🇿🇦 and 🇧🇼 for sharing information with @WHO & the world about B.1.1.529 variant that has been re… [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1464196599773642779

ReconfigBehSci. (2021, November 26). RT @PeterHotez: …this info is more relevant than immune escape. For instance the B.1.351 from ZA last year never really took off. So transm… [Tweet]. @SciBeh. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1464240155070447632

ReconfigBehSci. (2021, December 20). RT @thehowie: South Africa Deaths (7 day average) are near double levels of a few weeks ago. They will go up further. They are only 7.5%… [Tweet]. @SciBeh. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1472991477672419334

ReconfigBehSci [@SciBeh]. (2021, December 25). RT @thehowie: South Africa: Christmas update Hospitalizations⬆️15% week over week, ⬇️0.4% from yesterday. Gauteng Province ⬆️1.8% week ov… [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1474815859235381251

(((Howard Forman))) [@thehowie]. (2021, December 26). South Africa Hospitalizations⬆️15% week over week⬆️0.3% from yesterday Gauteng Province⬆️2.4% week over week⬆️0.7% Long plateau: Ventilators are last to peak (17% of Delta peak) Should see meaningful declines later this week. Https://t.co/qNv1l5hNcv [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/thehowie/status/1475095305297268740

Kai Kupferschmidt. (2021, December 1). If you’re curious how likely #omicron is to have spread from South Africa or Botswana to different places, @DirkBrockmann and colleagues have done some interesting calculations based on the world aviation network from 08/2021 You can see that US seems a very likely destination https://t.co/OSnZ6ZNble [Tweet]. @kakape. https://twitter.com/kakape/status/1466107074585239568

Ravi K Gupta [@ravgup33_ravi]. (2021, November 24). This one is worrying and I’ve not said that since delta. Please get vaccinated and boosted and mask up in public as the mutations in this virus likely result in high level escape from neutralising antibodies [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/ravgup33_ravi/status/1463626745651806208

Dr Dominic Pimenta [@DrDomPimenta]. (2021, December 15). An illustration of communicating risk with “less severe” variants: [Thread] Assume Omicron is 4x more transmissible than Delta. [1] Assume Omicron leads to 1/3 less admissions than Delta. [Figure below] Assume 1 in 100 cases of Delta are admitted to hospital. Https://t.co/XtnVwoOrUo [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/DrDomPimenta/status/1471094002808242177

Prof. Christina Pagel 🇺🇦 [@chrischirp]. (2021, November 24). As well as Tom’s new one (B.1.1.529), C.1.2 seems to be spreading in S Africa—C.1.2 was the one with lots of worrying mutations first reported in August... Plus cases in S Africa suddenly increasing again in the middle of their summer. Https://t.co/fCqfOMcO83 [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/chrischirp/status/1463504890530086917

ReconfigBehSci [@SciBeh]. (2021, November 25). RT @florian_krammer: Some info about B.1.1.529 from the South African research community. Thanks so much for sharing. Https://t.co/ckJQu5WV… [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1463967551944368143

Update on Omicron. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://www.who.int/news/item/28-11-2021-update-on-omicron

ReconfigBehSci [@SciBeh]. ‘RT @vikkypaedia: B.1.1.529 Seems to Have Gone from 0.1% to 50% in Just a Couple of Weeks, When It Took Delta Several Months to Achieve That…’. Tweet. Twitter, 26 November 2021. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1464194450406752282.

ReconfigBehSci [@SciBeh]. ‘RT @Tuliodna: Busy Day on B.1.1.529 - a Variant of Great Concern - The World Should Provide Support to South Africa and Africa and Not Dis…’. Tweet. Twitter, 25 November 2021. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1464130377178619904.

Dr Emma Hodcroft [@firefoxx66]. (2021, November 26). We now have B.1.1.529 sequences (designed at @nextstrain clade 21K) up in our Africa build. You can check them out below. These are from South Africa & Botswana—You can see the high number of mutations. CoVariants focal build & updates will come ASAP. https://t.co/fqBldneF5U [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/firefoxx66/status/1464145615571623938

ReconfigBehSci [@SciBeh]. (2021, November 26). RT @AdamJKucharski: Reminder that reactive travel bans typically slow but don’t stop importations. If new B.1.1.529 variant genuinely more… [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1464195627542327297

ReconfigBehSci [@SciBeh]. (2021, December 16). RT @hotSahs: @LivRNyyc @MDaware From today’s Ontario Science Table’s COVID update slide deck: Https://t.co/uJsQZZX2Cy [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1471531875013378058

James Ward on Twitter. (n.d.). Twitter. Retrieved April 21, 2022, from https://twitter.com/JamesWard73/status/1470680953643319305

BNO/Medriva Newsroom [@medriva]. (2021, November 26). South Africa’s health minister says, based on a small sample of Omicron cases, the majority of hospital patients are unvaccinated: ‘It indicates that the vaccines are providing protection’ [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/medriva/status/1464327805836083201

ReconfigBehSci [@i]. (2021, December 16). is it though? It’s pointless in terms of keeping omicron out, but why would it be pointless in terms of reducing mobility and contacts? [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1471439660991889411

South Africa has an interesting number of school and learners. with a big number of learners in the country.

Callaway, E. (2021). Heavily mutated Omicron variant puts scientists on alert. Nature, 600(7887), 21–21. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-03552-w

Coronavirus variant fear sparks Africa travel curbs. (2021, November 26). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59424269

ReconfigBehSci on Twitter: ‘it seems just yesterday that Twitter was ablaze with “nobody has died of omicron”’ / Twitter. (n.d.). Retrieved 29 March 2022, from https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1478483795863089154

Dr. Peter Hotez: Omicron is like a fast-moving freight train. (n.d.). MSN. Retrieved February 20, 2022, from https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/dr-peter-hotez-omicron-is-like-a-fast-moving-freight-train/vi-AARPfVG

Mckeever, A. (n.d.). COVID-19 variants will keep coming until everyone can access vaccines. Retrieved February 20, 2022, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/covid-19-variants-will-keep-coming-until-everyone-can-access-vaccines

Tom Moultrie on Twitter. (n.d.). Twitter. Retrieved February 13, 2022, from https://twitter.com/tomtom_m/status/1472561128240824324

Tulio de Oliveira. (2022, February 9). As expected, Omicron BA.2 takes over in South Africa, close to 100% of the new genomes. What does it mean? Https://t.co/SAb9mGYSjN [Tweet]. @Tuliodna. https://twitter.com/Tuliodna/status/1491483399265075202

Adele Groyer. (2022, January 8). Friday report is now out. Https://covidactuaries.org/2022/01/07/the-friday-report-issue-58/ I am struck that perception of a “mild” Covid situation is relative. In SA natural deaths were >30% higher than predicted in Dec. The last time weekly death rates in E&W were more than 30% above 2015-19 levels was in Jan 2021. Https://t.co/S9fkn2WFVk [Tweet]. @AdeleGroyer. https://twitter.com/AdeleGroyer/status/1479760460589191170

Adam, D. (2022). Will Omicron end the pandemic? Here’s what experts say. Nature, 602(7895), 20–21. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00210-7

Tom Wenseleers. (2022, January 30). Seems that the second Omicron subvariant BA.2 may soon be about to cause cases to start rising again in South Africa... Or at least to stop the decline in new infections. Shows how fast immunity wanes & evolution can catch up. Https://t.co/3y4xqPgZ0L [Tweet]. @TWenseleers. https://twitter.com/TWenseleers/status/1487919837670219781

Jorge A. Caballero, MD (jorgecaballero.eth). (2022, January 25). I’m not sure what to say anymore https://t.co/wapOCaoD6X [Tweet]. @DataDrivenMD. https://twitter.com/DataDrivenMD/status/1485914512360235010

Mike Honey 💉💉💉. (2022, January 22). Here’s the latest variant picture for BA.2 (Omicron). Globally it has been far less common than it’s sibling BA.1 lineage. The frequency of BA.2 is rising rapidly in several countries, notably India, Denmark & Singapore. 🧵 https://t.co/nE926hn9ws [Tweet]. @MikeHoney. https://twitter.com/Mike_Honey_/status/1484707779327950855

Yong, E. (2021, December 16). America Is Not Ready for Omicron. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/12/america-omicron-variant-surge-booster/621027/

Covid’s evolution: ‘With each passing wave, we’ve seen greater transmissibility.’ (n.d.). MSN. Retrieved January 15, 2022, from https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/covid-s-evolution-with-each-passing-wave-we-ve-seen-greater-transmissibility/vi-AARYwCn

Natalie E. Dean, PhD. (2022, January 2). Interesting. From this afternoon in @nytimes: Https://nytimes.com/2022/01/01/us/omicron-covid-holidays-surge-testing.html https://t.co/qCCkjXKS2K [Tweet]. @nataliexdean. https://twitter.com/nataliexdean/status/1477487783992254464

Harry Spoelstra. (2021, November 26). Breaking: ECDC has designated B.1.1.529 today as a #VOC https://t.co/WyLnc9xUoJ [Tweet]. @HarrySpoelstra. https://twitter.com/HarrySpoelstra/status/1464261361370910721

Arieh Kovler. (2021, November 26). Israel has identified four cases of the B.1.1.529 variant, all recent travellers. One case, a 32-year-old woman returning from South Africa, was triple vaccinated with Pfizer and had her 3rd dose just two months ago. [Tweet]. @ariehkovler. https://twitter.com/ariehkovler/status/1464190991204859919

Tom Moultrie. (2021, December 17). A 1-figure Gauteng update, bringing in data through Wednesday 15/12 (PCR only; by date of collection). The turn continues. On similar metrics (not shown) ALL northern provinces (NW, GT, MP, LP) seem to have now turned. Https://t.co/6Bh3kZsooK [Tweet]. @tomtom_m. https://twitter.com/tomtom_m/status/1471723711287996416

An Omicron cluster in diplomats and an outbreak at a Steps concert: The variant’s timeline is shifting. (2021, December 5). ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-06/omicron-netherlands-origins-and-strategy-to-control-it/100668682

Boffey, D. (2021, December 15). Omicron likely to accelerate death toll in Europe, says health agency. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/15/omicron-covid-likely-accelerate-death-rate-europe-eu-health-agency

NSW could have 25,000 COVID-19 cases per day by next month, modelling suggests. (2021, December 14). ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-15/nsw-covid-19-infections-reach-three-month-high-1360-new-cases/100700866

Carl T. Bergstrom. (2021, November 26). I’d be careful not to overinterpret the following graph from @jburnmurdoch. Yes, the fraction of B.1.1.529 is increasing faster. But I think that is that is largely due to different denominators. Https://t.co/NDhSqJpLlw [Tweet]. @CT_Bergstrom. https://twitter.com/CT_Bergstrom/status/1464061037292883970

ReconfigBehSci. (2021, December 12). RT @thehowie: BREAKING: Hospitalizations South Africa Hospitalizations⬆️70% week over week Gauteng Province⬆️50% GP⬆️1.2% from yesterday IC… [Tweet]. @SciBeh. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1470065925596618755

Tom Moultrie. (2021, December 12). Given the comedic misinterpretation of the South African testing data offered by @BallouxFrancois (and many others!) last night ... I offer some tips having contributed to the analysis of the testing data for the @nicd_sa since April last year. (1/6) [Tweet]. @tomtom_m. https://twitter.com/tomtom_m/status/1469954015932915718

Max Roser. (2021, December 11). The number of confirmed COVID cases is rising in all of Southern Africa. Https://t.co/3hP7f3zoqt [Tweet]. @MaxCRoser. https://twitter.com/MaxCRoser/status/1469634777078710274

Mahase, E. (2021). Covid-19: Do vaccines work against omicron—and other questions answered. BMJ, 375, n3062. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n3062

Diseases, T. L. I. (2021). Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants: Shooting the messenger. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00770-2

New Covid variant: How worried should we be? (2021, November 25). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-59418127

Axios AM. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2021, from https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-am-60b47701-a3e9-408f-b77a-0a752d789edf.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top

Cotterill, J. (2021, November 26). South African anger over ‘rushed’ Covid travel restrictions. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/6a177732-4faf-4ecb-adc1-667c22248e0f

Primo caso di variante Omicron in Italia. L’Iss: «Identificata sequenza nel paziente positivo in Campania». (2021, November 27). Open. https://www.open.online/2021/11/27/covid-19-campania-caso-sospetto-variante-omicron/

Trevor Branch. (2021, November 28). countries banned because of the omicron variant vs. Countries with confirmed omicron cases https://t.co/7HAxx03KfE [Tweet]. @TrevorABranch. https://twitter.com/TrevorABranch/status/1464748201601159169

Alistair Haimes. (2021, December 3). @nicfreeman1209 Ok, so vax take-up in Gauteng is 38.6%. Given 9% of inpatients whose vax status is known are vaxxed, I think that’s pretty encouraging (odds, log odds, etc.) https://t.co/eAAfIQ8BQT [Tweet]. @AlistairHaimes. https://twitter.com/AlistairHaimes/status/1466711359329120258

Sridhar, D. (2021, November 28). How bad will the Omicron Covid variant be in Britain? Three things will tell us. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/28/omicron-covid-variant-britain-southern-africa

Lindiwe Mazibuko. (2021, November 27). When literally every country “banning” you has a higher infection rate 🙄 https://t.co/NZMuf9Pfx5 [Tweet]. @LindiMazibuko. https://twitter.com/LindiMazibuko/status/1464539078611939333

Jorge A. Caballero, MD. (2021, December 3). #Omicron is sending more kids to the hospital than #Delta in South Africa https://t.co/bv5CxIag2u [Tweet]. @DataDrivenMD. https://twitter.com/DataDrivenMD/status/1466658311227404292

Harrison, V. (2021, December 2). Omicron variant fuelling ‘exponential’ rise in Covid cases, say South Africa officials. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/02/omicron-variant-fuelling-exponential-rise-in-covid-cases-say-south-africa-officials

COVID-19: Most Omicron cases are “mild” and there’s no evidence to suggest vaccines may be less effective against the variant, says WHO official. (n.d.). Sky News. Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-most-omicron-cases-are-mild-and-theres-no-evidence-to-suggest-vaccines-may-be-less-effective-against-the-variant-says-who-12483729

Oliver Barnes. (2021, November 30). Presented without comment. #Omicron cc @jburnmurdoch https://t.co/SFGr0y8VlZ [Tweet]. @mroliverbarnes. https://twitter.com/mroliverbarnes/status/1465646339426033667

Monama, T. (n.d.). Covid-19: Almost 90% of people hospitalised in Tshwane not vaccinated, NICD. News24. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/covid-19-almost-90-of-people-hospitalised-in-tshwane-not-vaccinated-nicd-20211129