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Is the expectation that SARS-CoV-2 will become a seasonal virus, permanently with us, like the other 4 coronaviridae (which we don't have a vaccine for)? https
by dharma1 7y ago
Is the expectation that SARS-CoV-2 will become a seasonal virus, permanently with us, like the other 4 coronaviridae (which we don't have a vaccine for)?
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/general-information.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/general-information.html
It seems that those keep coming back each year either because they mutate, or the antibodies produced by our bodies are no longer produced/effective after a year or so.
So even if we had a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, would it lose its' potency after a year, and people need annual booster shots? Or would the virus mutate so that the specific vaccine no longer works?
Also, is the expectation that the mortality rate of SARS-CoV-2 will reduce over time because of evolutionary pressure? Is that really the case, given that much of the spreading happens in the first 1-2 weeks, before the host is potentially dead?
- satanspastaroll 7y agoThere is research going into their more fundamental structure to try and defeat their whole family at once
- freeone3000 7y agoSo out of this mess, we might end up with a cure for the common cold?
- satanspastaroll 7y agoQuite! Though at first the goal is to create vaccines that affect multiple strands and are likely to be vulnerable to in the future
- petschge 7y agoNot really. The majority of cases of the common cold are caused by rhinoviruses, not coronaviruses. Then again I would gladly take a 10% cut in the common cold...
- onetimemanytime 7y agoany link? I'm curious and searching brings current crisis.
- bad_user 7y ago> So even if we had a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, would it lose its' potency after a year, and people need annual booster shots? Or would the virus mutate so that the specific vaccine no longer works? The answer is probably yes to both questions. RNA viruses, like influenza, HIV or coronaviruses do mutate a lot. This is what makes them hard to eradicate, plus in the case of influenza at least we've got an endless reservoir from wild animals. But a lot of people are already vaccinated for influenza every season and the availability of a vaccine that works for 6 months would make this very manageable, even for people that forget or refuse to vaccinate, due to herd immunity.