BRUSSELS (AP) — The world is racing to contain a new coronavirus variant that is potentially more dangerous than the one that has fueled waves of infection on nearly every continent.

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A World Health Organization panel on Friday named the variant “omicron” and classified it as a highly transmissible virus of concern.

That's the same category that includes the delta variant. Much of the world imposed immediate travel bans on visitors from southern Africa, where the new variant was discovered.

The U.S. is putting its travel limits into effect Monday.

The White House says agencies and airlines need the time to put the restrictions into effect.

Answers to 25 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

Vaccinations for COVID-19 began being administered in the U.S. on Dec. 14, 2020. The quick rollout came a little more than a year after the virus was first identified in November 2019. The impressive speed with which vaccines were developed has also left a lot of people with a lot of questions. The questions range from the practical—how will I get vaccinated?—to the scientific—how do these vaccines even work?

Keep reading to discover answers to 25 common COVID-19 vaccine questions.

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