Virus Alert

A concern that I have had for a while about the Covid-19 pandemic, appears to coming to fruition, as there is now evidence that the virus has been mutating in its passage through different human populations (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/10/scientists-concerned-that-coronavirus-is-adapting-to-humans). It was almost inevitable that viruses with mutations (and mutations will be relatively common in such rapidly-replicating, albeit simple, biological entities) would rapidly adapt to their 'new' (compared to bats) host. The ones that do best in humans, will thrive. Some of the mutations have reportedly involved the 'spikes' on the virus surface that it uses to get access to a host cell in order to hijack its DNA. These 'spikes' have been targets for vaccine development but, if they change, we may be entering a situation where we need to develop vaccine after vaccine (complicating a complete release from lockdown). It's a bit tentative at the moment but, as some ethnic human groups appear more susceptible to the virus than others, there may be genetic factors of human cells that influence the ease with Covid-19 enters. New forms of the virus could appear, enabling the entity to efficiently exploit a wider range of human hosts (they may develop features enabling them to infect the cells of currently more resistant groups). Either way, humans represent a considerable bonanza for Covid-19.