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SteakandTrach t1_j75ivvx wrote

Reply to comment by W0666007 in New evidence suggests that ‘hybrid’ immunity, the result of both vaccination and a bout of COVID-19, can provide partial protection against reinfection for at least eight months. Immunity acquired by booster vaccination alone seems to fade somewhat faster. by MistWeaver80

Fun fact: it appears Omicron was an evolved stain from the original and Delta that was MUCH more infective but a lot less pathogenic, which follows historic trends with other viruses. From an evolutionary standpoint, viruses don’t “want” to kill us, they want us alive and transmitting virus. So evolution tends to select for viruses that cause less harm. Will that happen in 4 years, 40 years, or 400 years? No one knows.

We already have 4 coronaviruses that are just the common cold because they have fine-tuned themselves to circulate among us without causing us much harm. COVID will likely be the 5th, it’s a question of “when”.

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Frosti11icus t1_j766r3o wrote

Ya...those coronaviruses became "colds" over the course of millennia...

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SteakandTrach t1_j77j6oo wrote

I don’t think anyone really knows when they did this. Could have been millennia, could have been the 1600s. That’s paraphrasing the virologist that gave a CME lecture on COVID I attended 2 days ago.

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Frosti11icus t1_j77sx74 wrote

Well pretty safe to say it wouldn’t be in our lifetimes if we just wait for it.

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Shokoyo t1_j76t7ao wrote

> From an evolutionary standpoint, viruses don’t “want” to kill us, they want us alive and transmitting virus.

From an evolutionary standpoint, that only matters if a) mortality is generally high and b) people die before transmitting the virus. Both is not the case with COVID

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