- Jul 11, 2001
- 38,372
- 8,683
- 136
This should get you past the paywall for 14 days, i.e. until May 27, 2024:
Tip: a lot of the comments are really good. I especially like this one...
Nick L
Rhode Island
May 11
The virus will continue to evolve very quickly. Evolutionary pressures insure future mutations will be both more transmissible and immune evasive.
The virus will be with us indefinitely. We long ago lost the chance to contain it because too many people refused masks and vaccination.
The virus will not become milder. The only evolutionary pressure is to spread more efficiently. There is no selection pressure on virulence one way or another except some traits that make a virus more transmissible also make infection more severe.
There are many clinical studies showing the latest viral variants are as deadly as ever if not more so:
https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-1601788/v1
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-34244-2
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-022-00722-z
Repeat infections do not get easier but are more severe with 2-3 times greater risk each time:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36357676/
Prior infection can give some partial immunity to some but for others causes long term damage to the immune system increasing risk from future infections:
https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/covid-19-study-suggests-long-term-damage-immune-system
To stay healthy we need to continue with regular boosters but most of all wear masks in crowded indoor spaces during times of high transmission.
The virus doesn’t care what people believe. As Neil deGrasse Tyson said, ‘The good thing about science is that it’s true, whether or not you believe it.’
8 Replies 120 Recommend
There’s a New Covid Variant. What Will That Mean for Spring and Summer?
Experts are closely watching KP.2, now the leading variant.
www.nytimes.com
Tip: a lot of the comments are really good. I especially like this one...
Nick L
Rhode Island
May 11
The virus will continue to evolve very quickly. Evolutionary pressures insure future mutations will be both more transmissible and immune evasive.
The virus will be with us indefinitely. We long ago lost the chance to contain it because too many people refused masks and vaccination.
The virus will not become milder. The only evolutionary pressure is to spread more efficiently. There is no selection pressure on virulence one way or another except some traits that make a virus more transmissible also make infection more severe.
There are many clinical studies showing the latest viral variants are as deadly as ever if not more so:
https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-1601788/v1
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-34244-2
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-022-00722-z
Repeat infections do not get easier but are more severe with 2-3 times greater risk each time:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36357676/
Prior infection can give some partial immunity to some but for others causes long term damage to the immune system increasing risk from future infections:
https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/covid-19-study-suggests-long-term-damage-immune-system
To stay healthy we need to continue with regular boosters but most of all wear masks in crowded indoor spaces during times of high transmission.
The virus doesn’t care what people believe. As Neil deGrasse Tyson said, ‘The good thing about science is that it’s true, whether or not you believe it.’
8 Replies 120 Recommend