Keep in mind it's one case and it's China, but we have our first genetic proof of a coronavirus reinfection:
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/0...infection/
The implications of this are that a vaccine will be largely pointless, because by the time you've manufactured one for a particular strain, there's a new strain. That means this virus will be with us forever. That means lockdowns are pointless unless they continue forever, which would mean no sports ever again.
The good implications are that this could act just like a normal common cold, at which point we can stop caring about it. In this one case—just like other typical coronavirus reinfections—there will be much less severe symptoms, or none at all like this guy.
(08-24-2020 07:47 AM)RunningGame Wrote: [ -> ]Keep in mind it's one case and it's China, but we have our first genetic proof of a coronavirus reinfection: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/0...infection/
The implications of this are that a vaccine will be largely pointless, because by the time you've manufactured one for a particular strain, there's a new strain. That means this virus will be with us forever. That means lockdowns are pointless unless they continue forever, which would mean no sports ever again.
The good implications are that this could act just like a normal common cold, at which point we can stop caring about it. In this one case—just like other typical coronavirus reinfections—there will be much less severe symptoms, or none at all like this guy.
I should add, a vaccine will be largely pointless to defeating the virus to satisfy those who fear returning to normal, but it could be useful in lessening symptoms, like the flu vaccine can do—even if it's the wrong strain picked. But flu strains are much better understood and planned for, so expect any vaccine for this to be way less effective for many years.
My limited understanding of virus mutations is that they get less severe as it is trying to stay alive. So it must become less lethal in order to affect more people. This one will essentially burn itself out like all the others previously. It may end up in the background like the flu or common cold.
(08-24-2020 08:43 AM)bronco1988 Wrote: [ -> ]My limited understanding of virus mutations is that they get less severe as it is trying to stay alive. So it must become less lethal in order to affect more people. This one will essentially burn itself out like all the others previously. It may end up in the background like the flu or common cold.
Maybe! Typically that will happen, because the less severe strains have the opportunity to infect more people, much like we see with HIV. However, that's not always the case. The second version of the Spanish Flu was devastating.
The flu virus itself has less virulent strains typically, and then WHAM! hits you with a bad one every decade or so.
So far, I've seen talk of two major strains of this so far, of about equal severity but one spreads much easier.
Sounds to me like the man did in fact have some immunity the 2nd time around...
"Iwasaki also noted that the man's immune system, while not enough to prevent reinfection, did appear to protect him from developing COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The man's immune system also appeared to produce antibodies that aided in fighting the reinfection."
(08-24-2020 11:06 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote: [ -> ]Sounds to me like the man did in fact have some immunity the 2nd time around...
"Iwasaki also noted that the man's immune system, while not enough to prevent reinfection, did appear to protect him from developing COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The man's immune system also appeared to produce antibodies that aided in fighting the reinfection."
Yes, but in the sense of this being like every other coronavirus—we're going to deal with it forever. We've already seen people with recent other coronavirus infections having a lot of existing immunity to this current version. Not immunity in the sense of getting the chickenpox once and then that's it for life, or immunity in the sense that you can get a vaccine and walk around with no reasonable worry of catching it.
This should ironically be comforting news; we want this coronavirus to join its cousins in being largely irrelevant to daily life.