Another point that should be emphasized is that the longer people don’t have access to effective vaccines and also don’t have adequate protection (respirators and PAPRs), the more likely it will be for more dangerous variants to evolve. This situation is a repeat of what happened during the start of the pandemic when mask wearing was discouraged: it allowed the virus to spread like wildfire and accelerated the emergence of dangerous variants.
If it’s true that the Russian flu was actually a coronavirus that evolved into OC43 (now endemic), then I’m not too worried about covid becoming “just another endemic coronavirus”. The vaccines are simply a way of speeding up the process in a way that minimizes deaths.
Another point that should be emphasized is that the longer people don’t have access to effective vaccines and also don’t have adequate protection (respirators and PAPRs), the more likely it will be for more dangerous variants to evolve. This situation is a repeat of what happened during the start of the pandemic when mask wearing was discouraged: it allowed the virus to spread like wildfire and accelerated the emergence of dangerous variants.
Not to dismiss your concerns, but I’m not sweating variants. I do make a point to mask up when I’m in an enclosed public space.
Convergent evolution. The variants aren’t very variable from one another (and they’ve had a lot of time to diversify):
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-coronavirus-variants-dont-seem-to-be-highly-variable-so-far/
New variants seem to arise in people who are severely immunocompromised. (“supermutators” if you will)
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-variants-may-arise-in-people-with-compromised-immune-systems/
It is unlikely that we will ever eradicate covid, unless we:
a) start putting salt licks in our backyards and declare open season on does and fawns:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/science/white-tailed-deer-coronavirus.html
and
b) start treating our wastewater with rat poison:
https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/7/29/22600656/covid-mutations-in-new-york-city-sewage-possible-dog-rat
If it’s true that the Russian flu was actually a coronavirus that evolved into OC43 (now endemic), then I’m not too worried about covid becoming “just another endemic coronavirus”. The vaccines are simply a way of speeding up the process in a way that minimizes deaths.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7252012/