When the ultramutated Omicron variant first surfaced in South Africa about seven weeks ago, scientists knew it would be unlike any of its coronavirus predecessors.

But beyond that, they didn’t know much — about its transmissibility, its severity, its ability to dodge our immune defenses or what kind of new havoc it might wreak as a result.

So they kept repeating the same mantra: We don’t know yet.

Members of the Ohio National Guard prepare to administer COVID-19 tests at a site in Akron, Ohio. (Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images)

Now, after nearly two months of lab studies and real-world observations, those same experts have a much clearer picture of what Omicron is — and