Darwin19 Dec 2020 23:14
Happily, we have vaccines coming to the rescue.
Sadly, the end result will be a virus that will not be stopped by vaccination.
The virus mutates roughly once every two weeks. These mutations are totally random. Each virus cell, in every human host, replicates. As it replicates, it copies its RNA code from cell to cell. Sometimes there is a transcription error. That error can be good for us, or bad for us. Bad for us is the new variant that just happens to spread 40-70% faster than the old virus. Even worse is the mink variant, which may prevent antibodies binding to the virus, therefore being impervious to antibodies produced by vaccination.
If you have no vaccination protection, you have to rely on prevention of spread. Normal masks are fairly useless, as their widespread and mandatory use in Spain has demonstrated,
Maybe the RMS mask is our best bet, in which case, this WILL be the new novacyt.