| Topic: | Reply | |
| Posted by: | Michael Ixer | |
| Date/Time: | 20/01/22 11:35:00 |
Paul. Had to reread that to check which Michael that was referring to - I was reading latest comment first on the GUI version! Then I realised it was to Mr Brown. Viruses mutate all the time. Most changes are minor and not of any consequence but every once in a while a significant variation comes along. Genomic sequencing of variations during testing was how the path was used to track showing the virus's spread around the globe. (If I remember correctly it was used to ascertain that the virus spread to the US from Italy via NY rather than directly from China. So stopping travel from China to the US didn't help, at least not at that time! It's why using and following proven science based on evidence is so important.) The more serious a case one has of Covid the more replication of it there will be so more opportunity for new variations including significant ones to develop. If one's vaccinated the evidence is that one's infection is less serious and therefore there's less scope for significant changes. This is based on my understanding of reading from various sourcesd, information from Prof Tim Spector, and Friends of Imperial College presentations by their specialists, it's not my area of expertise. But the science (and maths modelling) agrees with my understanding from studying maths and other areas of science. One thing I've been told is that variants that don't kill the victim are more likely to propagate as they can be replicating while the victime is still active and transmissible take place for longer - although Sars Covid is quite nasty in that it is highly transmissible in the early stages of infection before it causes serious illness or death. And significantly different new variants can circumvent current vaccines. Let's hope all new variants of Covid are less serious! |