learn a lesson. this virus is relentless. there are more variants coming. so, you know, god help us. >> we seem not to learn that lesson every time because there is that wild card out there. it's the omicron subvariant known as ba.2. it's the dominant strain now in more than 70 countries. new research according to cnn finding it may be as capable of causing serious illness as older variants of covid-19, including delta. and like omicron, it appears to be largely escaping the immunity created by vaccines. it's also resistant to some treatments including the monoclonal antibody currently being used against omicron. so by ending restrictions just in time to give the potentially deadlier version of the coronavirus a free run, it seems we're potentially at least creating the perfect storm. >> absolutely. and it's like we don't learn, you know, from our past. last july when the cdc says take your mask off, you know, throw caution to the wind, let's