Omicron COVID Variant

In 2019 the entire world realized just how true that comment was. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, which is currently the 10^th deadliest pandemic in history, we all began living in a brave new world. With the death toll at 5.21 million souls worldwide and counting, and the countless countermeasures and restrictions that have since been put into place to slow the spread of the disease, it is safe to say that every single one of us have been affected in one way or another, despite our income level, social status, race, where we live, etc. Basic things that most of us took for granted like going to school, going grocery shopping, getting together with family friends for holidays or personal milestones are now all viewed and handled differently, and likely will be for many years to come.

After just over a year of battling against this deadly disease, just as we thought we might have our heads above water and be able to take a much-needed deep breath, we found out about the Alpha variant in the UK. Since then, several new variants have popped up, originating in different parts of the world, with each seeming to be more and more deadly. The most recent variant being the Omicron variant, which has been discovered as recently as November 24, 2021, in multiple countries, but mainly in South Africa.

With each new variant comes a new list of questions and concerns. How effective is my vaccine against this variant? How quickly can it spread to areas that I travel or live in? How much more deadly is it compared to the previous variants? How quickly will boosters or new vaccines be manufactured to combat the new variant? How can the new variants be detected compared to the other variants? Does the new variant affect a certain demographic more than others? Many of these questions are being answered in real time as we continue to learn more about the variants.

The list of ways COVID and its variants have affected us is too long to write out, but a major issue since the beginning has been travel. Between needing a positive test before boarding a flight, flights getting cancelled at the height of the pandemic, countries going on restricted lists, and now certain countries requiring proof of insurance up to a certain monetary amount, traveling and living in foreign countries has become harder than ever.

If you are concerned if your insurance coverage will protect you against COVID, and all of its variants, and that it gives you the amount of coverage that is beginning to be required by different countries to travel to them, make sure you check with your insurance agent or brokerage on what types of policies that are available to fit your needs. You can also contact the Guardian Insurance MX team and request quotes from our different providers that offer this benefit.

Lastly, you can refer back to our previous articles on COVID and learn more about basic measures to protect yourself from it: 5 basic measures to protect yourself from Coronavirus