It's horrible for several reasons. And downright scary. According to an updated report at CNN: "The new variant was also found to have spread to humans, with 214 confirmed infections as of Friday... Allowing the virus to spread could potentially limit the effectiveness of future vaccines."Originally Posted by allegro
Denmark mink Covid crisis worsens. Here's what it means
If a virus mutates significantly, a new vaccine is needed. Similar to what is currently done for influenza. Ever year the flu vaccine is different. If COVID continues to mutate significantly, the ability to control it with vaccine is much more difficult as the vaccine would need to be continuously updated. And like the flu, human immunity to one variant would not necessarily mean immunity to another variant.
An update from the WHO includes this observation: "Minks can act as a reservoir of SARS-CoV-2, passing the virus between them, and pose a risk for virus spill-over from mink to humans. People can then transmit this virus within the human population. Additionally, spill-back (human to mink transmission) can occur. It remains a concern when any animal virus spills in to the human population, or when an animal population could contribute to amplifying and spreading a virus affecting humans. As viruses move between human and animal populations, genetic modifications in the virus can occur."
SARS-CoV-2 mink-associated variant strain – Denmark
So this disease may become endemic. It's certainly possible. With annual COVID shots like annual flu shots. And developing effective treatments will be key to keeping the death rate low as possible.
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