Covid-19: how dangerous is Omicron?

Omicron, a new variant of coronavirus first identified in South Africa, is spreading across the world. To contain it, countries have started closing borders and reintroducing strict domestic measures. But much uncertainty surrounds the transmissibility of Omicron, and whether vaccines will prove effective against it. Slavea Chankova, The Economist’s health-care correspondent, and Hal Hodson, our technology correspondent, answer your questions about the threat posed by the new variant.