4 ms·
Yes, I believe the high transmissibility before symptoms appear is the most beneficial trait to Omicron. However, if a variant appeared with exactly the same tr
by spuz 5y ago
Yes, I believe the high transmissibility before symptoms appear is the most beneficial trait to Omicron. However, if a variant appeared with exactly the same traits except that it was 10x more deadly, then a lot more people would be taking it more seriously, self-isolating and driving down infections. From an evolutionary perspective, there is an incentive for the virus to become milder rather than more deadly because of how the news of a deadly virus changes human behaviour.
- bayesianbot 5y agoBut future human actions do not put evolutionary pressure on the virus. First the possible new variant emerges, our actions come later.
- nawgz 5y agoIt's not like strains of the virus are made by intelligent design. The point is that Omicron became dominant because people due to a lot of factors, its high transmissibility and people's disinterest in quarantining among them. If Omicron 2.0 came out with the same transmissibility, but a notably higher lethality, people's interest in quarantining would have increased significantly, which could have prevented Omicron becoming the dominant strain in spite of its increased transmissibility.