In November, South Africa alerted the world to Omicron, a new strain of COVID-19. Then, as cases began to pop up worldwide, the World Health Organization labeled it a “variant of concern.” What do we know about Omicron, and just how worried should we be? Guest: Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, assistant professor with the School of Public Health at UTHealth and author of Your Local Epidemiologist on Substack. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices