Submitted by number1dork t3_120rixo in askscience
aggasalk t1_jdjqoc4 wrote
Reply to comment by Alwayssunnyinarizona in What happened to the old COVID variants, like Delta? Could they come back? by number1dork
similar viruses don't really compete. you can be infected with multiple COVIDs at the same time. the older variants disappear because of mass immunity, not because of competition.
Alwayssunnyinarizona t1_jdjvznu wrote
They are competing for resources in terms of susceptible individuals. If virus A is more transmissible, replicates in cells more quickly, or bypasses immunity that would otherwise prevent infection with virus B, then virus A has outcompeted virus B.
With evolution, everything is competition.
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