Confused

I agree GagaJo it has all got a bit confusing. I've actually got Covid at the moment (on day 10 currently and still testing positive), I haven't had contact with them but some of my family have also tested positive and have suffered no symptoms but I have been soooo ill, I have had all the symptoms of the original Covid and would have been interested to know from my PCR tests what strain I actually have.

DDs partner had Covid last May, so possibly the A virus and was very ill, he is now fully vaccinated but was ill again in December, not as bad but he is still feeling the after effects.
He teaches at a boarding school with many foreign pupils, plus U.K. pupils holidaying abroad, but he doesn’t know if the latest virus was D or the latest Omicron variant, (either way he is fed up with it) who know which Countries have which variation by now?
But it seems that for some people there is no immunity from any of them.
So,IMO I think that we still at risk from all of the variants and whether or not you have any underlying health issues will decide the outcome for you.
As we both have health problems we are still being careful and it’s getting a tad tedious, although we are venturing out for a curry tonight….whoop de dooo.

This from "YaleMedicine" explains quite a lot.

There’s always the danger of another variant popping up too, like omicron did.

Essentially omicron is more infectious than delta and delta was more infectious than alpha. This means the omincron can get to people and infect them before delta and alpha have got their hats on. Either omicron produces more infectious particles than the others, or can infect people who get much lower doses of the infectious particles compared with the amount needed for the other two.

Imagine Man United taking on your local amateur football team. Both teams look very evenly matched when stood on the pitch, but Man United will win hands down because they are just more effective at mowing down the opposition and scoring goals.

I've been told - admittedly at third hand - that many of the unvaccinated patients now in ICUs actually have the Delta variant. I'm sure it hasn't gone away and once almost all of us have had the Omicron variant, Delta or another nasty variant will raise its ugly head. I'm afraid that the Government is putting all its eggs in one basket by assuming that Omicron is the only enemy around.

I wonder why you feel the government thinks that anno?
They are doing their utmost to urge us all to have our boosters which will help to protect us against all the different variants circulating at the moment.

So where did Alpha go Anno, if the really I'll have Delta?

*not I'll, ill

I see it as a bit like the Tortoise & the Hare, Covid A &/or D (Tortoise) started slower, overtaken by Omicron but A&D still plodding on and may get there yet. Totally non scientific view but really all variants are still out there and we could catch any of them or their variants at any time and of course they will continually evolve.

I read there is a 'new' variant, in France, which has come from the Cameroon. Not heard much about it since.

There’s a lot well won’t know for certain about the Covid virus for a good while, but assuming it works like other viruses.

A virus only exists on a host (us) and can only pass from host to host. When you have been infected by a virus your body will acquire a degree of immunity to being infected again.

This is where the unknown comes in. Essentially these are mutations of the same virus so we expect that if you have been infected with one strain it will give you some immunity to all strains. Like cowpox gave immunity to small pox.

If a lot of people get Omicron because it’s more transmissible and develop immunity then the other variants have nowhere to go. They can’t continue to live on the infected host, they can’t infect another host who has immunity. They cease to exist.

Of course, we don’t know if it will work like this yet. It’s a completely new virus. Nor how long immunity last.

kittylester

I read there is a 'new' variant, in France, which has come from the Cameroon. Not heard much about it since.

It came and it went.

Pre-dates Omicron.

Alegrias1

kittylester

I read there is a 'new' variant, in France, which has come from the Cameroon. Not heard much about it since.

It came and it went.

Pre-dates Omicron.

I don't think "it went".

It's still a "variant of concern".

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ihu-new-covid-variant-meaning-france-b1987716.html

It is most certainly not a variant of concern.

Disappointed in the Independent for quoting Feigl-Ding. Maybe they should have quoted this instead.

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-04/who-official-downplays-coronavirus-variant-found-in-france-ky08hmpe

The Indy has published another article:

www.independent.co.uk/news/science/ihu-variant-covid-france-cases-b1987842.html

Apologies! It's not classified as a "variant of concern", but it appears it's being monitored. Hopefully, it will disappear like most mutations do.

Its a funny old world, isn't it? Both published 5 hours ago, one says its the end of the world (OK, I exaaggerate!) and one says everything's fine.

I give up on the newspapers really!

Germanshepherdsmum

There’s always the danger of another variant popping up too, like omicron did.

Hardly a danger, gsm, more like a certainty, just like flu and common cold viruses. We were told right at the beginning of the pandemic that would be the case but also that in order to survive (that is, for the viruses to survive; it doesn't do to kill off too many hosts because then you die out too), viruses tend to get less virulent rather than more.

growstuff

The Indy has published another article:

www.independent.co.uk/news/science/ihu-variant-covid-france-cases-b1987842.html

Apologies! It's not classified as a "variant of concern", but it appears it's being monitored. Hopefully, it will disappear like most mutations do.

The articles said neither. The exaggerations are all yours!

Baggs

Germanshepherdsmum

There’s always the danger of another variant popping up too, like omicron did.

Hardly a danger, gsm, more like a certainty, just like flu and common cold viruses. We were told right at the beginning of the pandemic that would be the case but also that in order to survive (that is, for the viruses to survive; it doesn't do to kill off too many hosts because then you die out too), viruses tend to get less virulent rather than more.

No, Baggs viruses don't have intelligence. There's no quota about how many people could be killed off.

PS. Some viruses gradually become less virulent over time, but there's no guarantee that SARS-CoV-2 will follow that pattern.

It's a myth that viruses always become less virulent.

Do Bad Viruses Always Become Good Guys in the End?

www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19/do-bad-viruses-always-become-good-guys-end

If you don't like the tone of that article, there are plenty of others which say the same thing.

growstuff

Baggs

Germanshepherdsmum

There’s always the danger of another variant popping up too, like omicron did.

Hardly a danger, gsm, more like a certainty, just like flu and common cold viruses. We were told right at the beginning of the pandemic that would be the case but also that in order to survive (that is, for the viruses to survive; it doesn't do to kill off too many hosts because then you die out too), viruses tend to get less virulent rather than more.

No, Baggs viruses don't have intelligence. There's no quota about how many people could be killed off.

It's nothing to do with intelligence, gs. Natural selection is what drives survival. The virus mutations that survive are the ones that don't kill too many of their hosts but spread pretty easily. Common cold virus and flu virus are classic survivors. They – well flu at least – kill some of their "infectees" but only a small proportion of those. And so flu and cold infections recur and recur as we all know.

No, Baggs, I really don't think you understand what is meant. Viruses aren't intelligent. They don't decide they're going to leave some live hosts, in order for the virus itself to survive. That really isn't how the "survival of the fittest" works. There is absolutely no reason why a virus shouldn't kill of every single host.