Some corona conspiracy theories no one will spread

Suddenly there was Omicron. It reproduces 70 times faster than the Delta variant. But that is only in the larger airways. Therefore, the patients don’t get so sick, but spread the virus like sprinklers.

It could be—we don’t know yet, but it is possible and more and more likely—that Omicron will travel the world like wildfire, pushes all other variants into the dustbin of history, makes no one seriously sick, and makes us all immune against all coronavirus infection until the end of time. No more COVID-19 medication or vaccinations. End of the pandemic. There is room for optimism.

Omicron. Over 50 mutations. That is practically unbelievable to happen naturally. Implausible things do happen. But we humans like to give a cause to them anyway. But, no one will propose these possibilities:

1. Someone high-up in a pharmaceutical company got remorse about their greed and created Omicron in a secret lab and let it loose in South Africa. We never see such remorse.
2. An autocrat ruling some country got remorse for abandoning the people to the fate of this virus and created Omicron in a secret lab and let it loose in South Africa. We never see such remorse.
3. Someone became angry at the pharmaceutical industry about their greed and created Omicron in a secret lab and let it loose in South Africa. Too complicated to be made by a random someone angry.
4. Some of the smartest and richest people in the world got together and created Omicron in a secret lab and let it loose in South Africa. Unlikely because why would they not brag that they did this?

But, there’s an overarching reason why such ‘dark’ theories won’t spread. They speak of the goodness of people. And a good blood libel speaks of the (supposed) wickedness of some others. Always others, that is right.

With a bit of luck, someone will say that G^d Himself intervened. He wanted a rapid cure to coincide with the prayers of very holy and very common people. Impossible to prove and a potentially powerful story.

Or, QAnon supporters will create the fantasy (just one more, what’s the difference?) that Q Himself intervened. He wanted a rapid cure to help the common people. Impossible to prove and a potentially powerful story.

But, an evil genius could make up that Omicron was created to bypass most vaccinations. That most of the mutations were in the spike proteins because most vaccines used the old spike proteins. So that the people vaccinated would get sick again but people who naturally had the infection would be better protected. But, the plot backfired. Instead of defeating people who ‘listened to medical wisdom,’ it turned out to make everyone immune. Now, THAT is a good blood libel. That one we may see one day.

Never mind that it then makes no sense to let it loose in a country that has very low numbers of people vaccinated. Facts never stop a juicy lie.

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The Times of Israel won’t carry this post. It told me: We’re not going to publish this post, though the purported conspiracy theories are a “straw man,” and all for the good. Given the current unknown severity of Omicron, and given the current public willingness to believe all kinds of conspiracy theories, we choose to be cautious.

A tree is known by its fruit. Only this tree has quite a variety of produce, so please don't judge the trunk after one helping.
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