A chilly wind blew in Friday from the far side of the Atlantic Ocean with the news that a greatly mutated version of the COVID-19 virus has appeared in Africa and Europe.

It is named the omicron variant … yet another letter in the Greek alphabet assigned to mutations of the original virus.The news hit the world with a shock, and stock markets around the globe have shuddered. It is spreading fast, and scientists do not yet have enough data to know if current vaccines will work against it.

If the vaccines don’t work, we may soon be overwhelmed with yet another devastating wave of Covid, just as delta recedes.

Combining an expected winter surge with the unknowns of a new mutation, it’s no wonder the fragile economic recovery has hit the pause button.

We are nearly two years now into the coronavirus pandemic. It has affected every aspect of our lives. The numbers (as of Thanksgiving) tell the actual toll in terms of illnesses and deaths.

Putting together information from va...