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This is not necessarily the case for a virus with such a long period of asymptomatic transmission. There is very little selective pressure for the virus to bec
by flerovium 5y ago
This is not necessarily the case for a virus with such a long period of asymptomatic transmission.
There is very little selective pressure for the virus to become less deadly; in fact, higher viron count is positively associated with both transmissibility and mortality.
- elevaet 5y agoExactly. People overlook this fact constantly. There is no selection pressure for a virus like this to become more or less deadly. Just pressure to become more transmissible within our mixture of vaxxed, unvaxed, and some natural immunity.
- hackinthebochs 5y agoIncreasing the window of contagious spread is likely to be inversely correlated with deadliness.
- flerovium 5y agoTransmissibility is highest before symptoms appear. This the distinct characteristic of COVID-19 that separates it from most viruses and has enabled it to spread rapidly on a global scale.
- hackinthebochs 5y agoI don't see how that negates my point. If the virus can mutate to have a longer transmissibility window, it implies that it will also be less deadly. The period when symptoms start is the period where your immune response is ramped up. Delaying or reducing the immune response implies longer transmission window and less severe illness.
- Lhiw 5y agoIt doesn't imply that at all. There could be a number of ways the virus delays early immune response while still creating more problems later at a different scale.
- Lhiw 5y agoI don't think this is true? Were defending against severity with a vaccine that only partially works. Increasing potency of the disease might be one thing being selected for by increased vaccination rates.