Yep. We didn’t keep it controlled so it grew large enough to start to mutate.
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On the bright side, preferred strains generally are less fatal, since it isn’t advantageous to kill the host, when the host could go on sneezing on people and spreading offspring. It does tend to favor the more communicable versions, and it does make it harder to make vaccines, over time. We’ll cross our fingers for the less fatal versions and moderate our hopes, remembering it is 2020.
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The “radically different approach” is apparently Sweden’s, except unlike Sweden these guys actually call it “herd immunity”.
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from webmd ( top googling )
Researchers estimate that people who get infected with the coronavirus can spread it to others 2 to 3 days before symptoms start and are most contagious 1 to 2 days before they feel sick.
so i don’t think the selection pressure around mortality matters much. it’s of course possible that whatever variation makes it more infectious also accidentally makes it less lethal but it could accidentally make it worse too.
there’s no direct connection either way with coronavirus i think
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I am mean long term. The evolutionary goal is to become ubiquitous. If it is too deadly, hosts die, splintering the social connections between groups of hosts. In terms of humans we become aware and react socially, quarantining the ill, creating countermeasures, etc.
A mutation could make it worse, sure, but then those factors kick in and the less deadly versions would sneak under the radar and still be preferred. One could make the argument that if Covid-19 were more deadly, asshats might not have had such an easy time convincing people it wasn’t a threat.
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Covid’s hockey haven
Helsingin Sanomat has a couple of stories about ice hockey teams and coronavirus infection chains.
One looks at how infections spread from Mikkeli’s Jukurit under-20 side to other teams in Hämeenlinna and Kouvola, and how one nurse’s decision to rapidly test the first players to report symptoms was crucial in stopping onward spread.
The other asks why Covid has particularly spread among hockey players. Is it the cold air or the airflow at rinks, or maybe something about the way players breathe?
There are no answers as yet, but experts tell HS that with the professional men’s league about to start, officials should ensure regular testing of their players to nip any outbreaks in the bud.
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Speaking of Finland, this looks cool!
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How much money is involved, that they don’t go for the easiest way to stop outbreaks by not playing at all? I wonder if liability and insurance issues exist in sports worldwide. If so, unless there are already waivers and disclaimers in place for these teams and players, there will be a lot of lawsuits and claims filed next year.
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Old churches with terrible climate control and ventilation systems are so common in the US that we joke about it. The megachurches that hold services in theaters and arenas might be worse. I shudder to think how many outbreaks could come from people who insist on attending in-person services before an effective vaccine has been developed.
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Because of current events, I’m not quite sure who to applaud in this situation 
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Considerable restraint by the officer, especially towards the dicknose interfering with him.
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there’s not really a goal though. life just propagates because it propagates.
absolutely.
the problem is this virus is spreading so well because it spreads when it’s asymptomatic. that puts it in a bad sweet spot. there’s nothing that keeping us alive longer will do for it. by the time it’s life and death for us, it’s propagated to other hosts.
it’s like we’re the male half of a preying mantis pair. nothing selects for a less deadly version of preying mantis evolving. it lives happily in its niche no problem. even with millions of other insect species around.
another take is: there’s already lots of non deadly coronaviruses that we’ve all been exposed to and gotten non fatally sick from. so we just went from less deadly to more deadly… and both the old and the new coronaviruses are hanging around. both doing their thing. mostly not affecting whether we can get infected or not by their brethren.
i don’t think we know whether this will be flu like, new variations every year that we need new vaccines for. or whether it’s more polio like, pretty stable, one vaccine and done. ( though it sounds like even if it’s one vaccine, it could be booster shots on a regular basis for the foreseeable future because our immune system response is so low )
it’s kind of meme though that’ll it’ll just breed itself out. i don’t know that ive ever heard of a virus that’s done that. the closest for animal life is niche collapse: eating your way out of food/hosts. one star. definitely can’t recommend.
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on further reflection, i think i see what you mean.
to paraphrase… humans have a reaction, and asimov foundation like, we can to some extent predict and model it, and so maybe a more deadly virus might lead to fewer fatalities.
i agree something like that’s a possibility.
i’m not convinced though that there’s an arc to history or that people will necessarily improve their reactions over time. we’ve had lots of empires collapse due to ecological or environmental changes, to wars, plagues and what have you.
we’ve never had this level of tech before, but call me in a thousand years and we’ll see whether we collapsed back and built back and if so how many times.
we’re so young still. i think for now let’s assume we’re fragile and everybody acting as such might make us strong enough to last without a whole lot more damage to ourselves, each other, or the planet.
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How much you want to bet the person filming it, saying that Maskless Karen shouldn’t be arrested for not wearing a mask shrugs their shoulders at the murder of Black people for no reason?
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More pics of the good boys and girls.
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After nearly losing a six-week battle with coronavirus, Ann’s dad is relatively recovered, and he’s found a new way to rationalize Fox News’ dual realities. On one hand, he readily admits the virus shouldn’t be taken lightly. “He definitely got scared, especially given how sick my mom got,” Ann says. “So at least he understands the seriousness and is a bit more willing to be careful.” But that’s as far as he’ll go. He didn’t get sick because of President Trump’s fatal mismanagement or because Fox News downplayed the severity of the pandemic and the importance of wearing masks. Rather, he blames China.
“He just cannot see who is truly responsible for the situation in the U.S., and it’s sad that getting himself and his wife sick wasn’t enough to rise above the propaganda,” Ann says. “Ultimately, I have no doubt that President Trump and Fox News have caused people to die, so I’m just focusing on how lucky I am that my parents aren’t among those numbers.”
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