Another COVID link

[dolphins4life]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/omicron-subvariant-ba-5-worst-200214156.html

Every single comment in the section is COVID-skeptical.

I wonder if this is the variant I contracted.

If this virus can evade the vaccines, does this mean the vaccines are worthless?

[Dave Gray]

Your question is kind of wrong in its premise.

A virus evolves.  Over time, it will likely be more transmissible and less deadly.  Natural selection will choose things that live, so the mutations that survive will be ones that spread easily and don't kill their host quickly.  There will continue to be new versions of COVID that may react different.

The vaccine isn't static.  There are lots of different variations of flu....scientists pick the one or two that are likeliest to be an issue and target those.  Sometimes they are wrong and the vaccines they choose are less effective that season.  The point with COVID is that the vaccine makers will likely also create new versions to target virus variations, just like with the flu.  Even if the vaccine created to target the OG Covid strain and doesn't have adequate protection for the new variant, it doesn't mean it never will.

Protection isn't binary.  A vaccine may reduce death by 99%.  Then, a variant can come out where death reduction is only 80%.  Then, another could be 60%.  Even if a vaccine isn't offering as much protection, it doesn't necessarily mean it's worthless.