5 ms·
> It's been "over" several times already Yes, but there are concrete reasons it didn't end: new variants showed up, and in the case of omicron in particular it
by handoflixue 5y ago
> It's been "over" several times already
Yes, but there are concrete reasons it didn't end: new variants showed up, and in the case of omicron in particular it was able to overwhelm resistance established by previous strains.
That can absolutely happen again, but increasing vaccination rates across the globe mean the odds of a new variant are lower.
- jupp0r 5y agoI don't think odds of a new variant are lower. Vaccines turned out to not be effective against infection after a few months (they are very effective against severe disease). People who are vaccinated might clear the infection faster but as long as there is viral replication there will be mutations. At the same time, evolutionary pressure to evade vaccine protection is increasing as more people are vaccinated.