![Beyond the Headlines](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/12298826/Podcast_BtH_June_24_playfair6gk8m.jpg)
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Dive deeper into the week’s biggest stories from the Middle East and around the world with The National’s foreign desk. Nuances are often missed in day-to-day headlines. We go Beyond the Headlines by bringing together the voices of experts and those living the news to provide a clearer picture of the region’s shifting political and social landscape.
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![How worried should we be about the Omicron variant?](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog12298826/20211216_300x300.jpg)
Thursday Dec 16, 2021
How worried should we be about the Omicron variant?
Thursday Dec 16, 2021
Thursday Dec 16, 2021
A new variant of coronavirus is spreading across the globe.
Named Omicron, after the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet, it has sparked travel bans around the world. In South Africa, where the variant was first identified, it has quickly become the dominant strain. And on Monday, UK prime minister Boris Johnson announced what is believed to be the first death caused by Omicron.
On this week's Beyond the Headlines, host Cody Combs asks: how worried should we be about Covid’s new variant?