new york i m emit in for chris hayes. there is a new coronavirus variant raising questions and concerns around the globe. while scientists and public health experts are helping to answer questions and ease those concerns, the pro curled white in this country is meeting this challenge with the same old mix of misinformation and conspiracy theories. world health organization naming the new covid variant omicron. last week the south african government warned that the world should be aware of this variant. it was first detected there earlier this month. of course, this is far from the first variant we have seen emerge. quite honestly, it is not unexpected. this is what viruses do. they mutate. we have already cycled through the alpha variant that came out of the united kingdom late last year. beta first detected in south africa. gamma emerging from brazil. and of course delta, first documented in india. which has become the dominant strain worldwide.