You forgot to mention that the B.1.640.2 variant was detected in early November 2021. In the mean time, omicron has swept the world, and B.1.640.2 remains a curiosity.

[quote]Cases of the newly-identified variant were first detected by a team of experts at the IHU Méditerranée Infection centre in Marseille. In all, 12 patients from Forcalquier, in the southern French region of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, tested positive for COVID-19 but showed "an atypical combination".

B.1.640.2 was actually discovered before Omicron with the first cases found in early November, weeks before the alarm was raised about the variant in South Africa on November 24.[/quote]
https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/01/05/covid-variant-b-1-640-2-what-we-know-so-far-about-the-new-strain-found-in-france

Here's the poorly rendered text of some tweets:
[quote]Tom Peacock
@PeacockFlu
·
Jan 3, 2022
Lots of chat about B.1.640.2 in the last few days - just a few points to keep in mind:
- B.1.640.2 actually predates Omicron
- in all that time there are exactly... 20 sequences (compared to the >120k Omis in less time)
Def not one worth worrying about too much at the mo...
Tom Peacock
@PeacockFlu
and as @shay_fleishon pointed out there havent been any new sequences uploaded since before Christmas... this virus has had a decent chance to cause trouble but never really materialised (as far as we can tell at least...)[/quote]

I don't understand why vaccine passports are needed if they don't protect anyone from the continuing new variants. It just seems like a push to get everyone vaccinated. It was all about vaccinating the old or those with underlying health conditions at first. Now it's everyone of all age groups. It just seems all a little dodgy to me personally.