Kamala Harris: "We didn’t see Delta coming, we didn’t see Omicron coming"

We didn’t see Delta coming. I think most scientists did not — upon whose advice and direction we have relied — didn’t see Delta coming.  We didn’t see Omicron coming.  And that’s the nature of what this, this awful virus has been, which as it turns out, has mutations and variants.

~ Vice President Kamala Harris, "Kamala Harris, in interview, says administration did not anticipate Omicron variant," Los Angeles Times, December 17, 2021

Daniel McAdams on the Omicron variant

If this weaker guy [Omicron] takes over the tougher guy [Delta] and everyone gets the weaker one, then basically Covid is gone.  So the question is, if this is the case, "Why are countries doing everything they can to prevent a weaker form from supplanting the more lethal form?"

~ Daniel McAdams, "If Omicron's As Mild As Experts Say... Why All The Hysteria?," Ron Paul Liberty Report, 6:00 mark, December 2, 2021

President Biden on the Omicron variant

On Thursday, I'll be putting forward a detailed strategy outlining how we're going to fight COVID this winter, not with shutdowns or lockdowns but with more widespread vaccinations, boosters, testing and more...  If people are vaccinated and wear their mask, there is no need for the lockdown.

~ President Joe Biden, "Biden says 'lockdowns' not needed to curb coronavirus variant," The Hill, November 29, 2021

Jim Cramer on the Omicron variant and vaccine mandates

So it's time to admit that we have to go to war against COVID.  Require vaccination universally.  Have the military run it.  If you don't want to get vaccinated, you better be ready to prove your conscientious objector status in court.

~ Jim Cramer, CNBC's "Mad Money," November 29, 2021

(Quote in "CNBC host suggests nationwide vaccine mandate: 'Have the military run it'," The Hill, November 30, 2021

Goldman Sachs strategist ready to buy the dip on Omicron variant scare

We think a broad risk recovery may be impeded in the near term by the need to digest the prospect of a more hawkish Fed and a less consistent cyclical tailwind.  Ironically, the Omicron scare itself may now create the best possibilities for relief in the coming weeks, either because incoming news is better than feared or because it prompts monetary policymakers to take a more cautious stance toward tightening.

~ Dominic Wilson, Goldman Sachs strategist, client note, November 29, 2021