Are We Creating a Problem When There Might Not Be a Problem?

The United States has a program that tries to anticipate the next major coronavirus variant that has the capability of negating the effectiveness of current COVID-19 vaccines. This is a noble cause! I applaud it. However, who decides there is a valid threat to our health and safety?

Variant Threat?

https://www.newsmax.com/us/covid-variant-antibody-resistant/2021/04/22/id/1018683/. A recent health headline says that a new variant of the COVID-19 virus appears to be more infectious, cause more serious symptoms, resistant to antibody vaccines, and infects the young.

That is alarming in many ways. The youth have always had an advantage when it comes to coronavirus. Most time they have the disease and never exhibit symptoms. Now, there is a coronavirus variant that is resistant to vaccines, causes them severe symptoms (maybe hospitalization and even death), and it affects the younger crowd! That headline could be devastating.

What is the real story?

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/coronavirus/scientists-at-texas-am-identify-new-variant-of-covid-19/2611118/. Texas A&M University named a coronavirus variant, BV-1. A single student tested positive on March 5th and again on March 25th – 20 days later. The symptoms were gone by April 2nd and a test on the 9th of April was negative. Is this a new variant? Is it a serious threat to Americans?

Texas A&M University sent the sample to several labs and the results showed the antibodies typically responsible for preventing infection had no apparent effect in countering this new viral mutation. Obviously, scientists are alarmed that a new variant could start a new pandemic.

This variant was found in one student without any symptoms. If the viral variant had the pedigree that medical researchers described, there would be many other students infected, showing symptoms, and being hospitalized. None of that has occurred. Is this a real issue, or a red herring? I do not know. Are we looking too hard to find something or grabbing a hold of anything that can prove a theory?

Variants, Mutations, Strains

https://news.lvhn.org/mutations-variants-and-strains-a-coronavirus-guide/. This link provides good information on mutations, variants, and strains. I like the clarity it provides to describe each term. These terms are thrown around often without true clearness and precision.

Conclusion

Is there a new variant that can start a new pandemic? Probably not. Should I worry about it? Me, personally, NO!

The idea that a new mutation can be discovered early is a noble cause and worth pursuing. But, publicizing the data before more than one person has laboratory results affirming startling results that can panic a population is not valid, to me!

If a hundred people at Texas A&M University were confirmed with this variant and a large percentage had severe symptoms and were hospitalized; well, that is a different set of results. That is not what I am seeing in the data published recently.

Live Longer & Enjoy Life! – Red O’Laughlin – RedOLaughlin.com