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Imagine the day when we finally
overcome the COVID-19 crisis.
We've rolled out a vaccine to contain the virus,
and everyone is able to go outside again
and return to their normal lives.
But then we find out,
just as we've been reuniting with
all our old friends and returning to work,
that there's another strain of COVID-19
that's been lurking around.
And it's one we aren't prepared for.
When most people hear the words
"mutate" or "mutation,"
they generally think of things like
special powers or instability.
They're both attributes
that we wouldn't want this virus to gain.
But the truth is that viruses mutate all the time,
and it doesn't always mean
that they're going to cause new,
deadlier symptoms.
What it does mean is that
we may need to make changes to how we
test for and treat the virus.
And to understand why we need those changes,
we have to learn a little bit more about
how a virus works.
In simple terms,
a virus is something that can infect us,
and it can be found in bacteria,
plants, and animals.
We don't know for sure whether
a virus is alive or not,
but we do know that they can only
multiply in a host, such as the human body.
The COVID-19 virus is made of
something called ribonucleic acid,
or RNA for short.
RNA is one of the building blocks of life,
and it carries the codes that
determine the order of amino acid
sequences in proteins.
A viral mutation happens when the
order of the amino acids in the virus changes.
When a virus grows
and spreads to different people,
it makes copies of its genetic code,
and this is where mutations can occur.
If viruses make mistakes when they
copy their genetic code,
they can't fix them.
And because viruses make
so many mistakes copying their genetic code,
they tend to change faster
than other organisms.
As more and more people are infected,
a virus will continue to replicate itself,
which gives it more opportunities to mutate.
And in the case of the COVID-19 virus,
also known as SARS-CoV-2,
the mutation has already begun.
But there's no need to panic.
This doesn't mean that the virus is going to
become a deadlier, even scarier
threat to humanity.
All viruses mutate, and
for the most part
the changes are so slight that
there are no noticeable differences
in the disease's transmission or fatality rates.
As the COVID-19 virus continues to mutate,
the real differences we'll see
are in the ways that we test for,
and treat the virus.
The tests that have been developed
to detect COVID-19
may have to be changed over time,
so they can also identify
the mutated versions of the virus.
If we can keep track of all these mutations,
it will also help us to develop drugs
to fight them.
We might be able to develop
a vaccine to fight off one strain of COVID-19,
but what about any new mutations?
The good news is, it's unlikely that
mutations will interfere with the effectiveness
of any vaccine we develop.
According to a biologist at
Texas A&M University,
the mutations of the COVID-19 virus are
so slow and mild that
they are most likely to stay
pretty similar to its initial sequence.
We've seen this happen before
in viruses like the mumps.
More than 45 years later,
the original vaccine is still protecting us.
And even if COVID-19 does become resistant
to the drugs we use to treat it,
we still have options.
We could always develop several drugs that
treat different parts of the virus.
We've done that successfully with our
treatment of the HIV-AIDS virus.
If that doesn't work, then
maybe it's time we all move down
to underground bunkers,
and take this whole social distancing
thing to the next level.
But that's a story for another WHAT IF.