Where Do the COVID Options Come From?
Variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 did not make headlines until this year, despite the virus spreading worldwide throughout 2020. There is some misinformation blaming the vaccine itself for these options, but this appears to be based on a misunderstanding. Let’s explore the facts.
Truth: More infections = more options
There is a proverb in biology that “nothing makes sense except in the light of evolution.” And this is definitely true here. As soon as that – or playing – be it a virus or people – some people will be a little different from their parents. DNA is not copied perfectly, or in the case of some viruses, their RNA is not copied perfectly. These changes are called mutations.
“In fact, high error rates in RNA viruses are believed to be part of their evolutionary strategy,” virologist Matt Kochi told Applied Ecology News . “If you create [thousands of] offspring, many with random mutations, it will increase the chances that one of them will be better adapted for survival. Many of these mutations will worsen the condition of the virus and may even render it inert. “
In other words, every time a virus reproduces, there is a tiny chance it might offer a version that can spread faster. The more people are infected, the more likely a dangerous option is to appear.
In that AEN interview published in March 2021, a reporter asked how viral evolution could be stimulated if you wanted to increase the chances of a malicious variant emerging. “I would do what we do in the US,” Kotsi said. “Allow the virus to run more or less without checking.”
Myth: vaccines are to blame.
Vaccines are an important tool for preventing viral evolution. The fewer people become infected, the less opportunity the virus has to create new variants. The same can be said for other controls such as masks, social distancing, and remote gatherings.
But there’s a myth that’s ingrained among people who are suspicious of vaccines: They say vaccines encourage options. This theory likely became popular after an episode of Joe Rogan, which cited a 2015 study on viral evolution.
The study did not include COVID-19 or humans. It was a chicken vaccine against the so-called Marek’s disease , and it showed that a “leaky” vaccine (one that allows many breakthrough infections) can affect the evolution of the virus.
But study author Andrew Reed told Forbes that his study does not support Rogan’s view that COVID vaccines are a bad idea. Reed and his family are vaccinated. He told Forbes:
“Evolution [of the virus that causes COVID-19] is currently taking place among the unvaccinated. This is where most of the cases are. This is the bulk of the transmission. Every time a virus replicates, it can mutate. So evolution is happening right now in humans who have not been vaccinated. Rogan is completely wrong trying to get something else out. “
Delta , a variant so transmitted that it is currently the dominant COVID strain worldwide , has emerged in India, where vaccination rates have been very low. Current data tells us vaccines make it impossible for the coronavirus to mutate; they do not encourage mutation. Thus, the most important way to deal with this pandemic is still vaccination, if possible.