Originally Posted by
Excargodog
The coronavirus mutates at a slower rate than influenza but it only varies by degree. It DOES mutate. The current mutant strains do not appear to be more lethal, but they do appear to be more infectious allowing faster spread. Thus far, at least, it appears that the mutant strains can potentially still be held in check by the recently approved vaccines.
Yeah, hopefully that's true (and I'm optimistic it will be) but the UK lockdowns are unfortunately sucky news for all of us. The SA claim seems to be built as much on conjecture as science at this point, but if the average 30-40 year old now has to act like they're 65 that's gonna be a real sumbiatch. Jury is obviously out on that one and some skepticism is warranted, but that's big news if true. Seems like in both cases they think the vaccines will still work, as you said. Big silver lining is that international travel is significantly curtailed, so hopefully if the South Africans are right, it doesn't get to the US before we get to critical mass with vaccination.
Can't get them jabs soon enough...