Travelers infected with the new version have turned up in a cascading number of countries over the past few days, and new cases in Portugal and Scotland have raised fears that the variant may already be spreading locally.
Dr. Paula Rochon at Toronto's Women's College Hospital said her research led her to realize the significant lack of information about older adults, especially women.
Dr. Matt Poyner, who took a year off to travel with his wife and kids before the pandemic, is back in Canada and has some thoughts about returning to medicine or starting a new chapter in his life.
The new variant, deemed Omicron, first emerged in South Africa and coincided with a steep rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in that region in recent weeks.