COVID-19 Is Mutating, But Will It Be More Deadly?

By Rishi Ganesh

As COVID-19 continues its spread across the world, we have watched as scientists scramble for a vaccine to return the planet to normalcy. Many have lost loved ones. Friends. Jobs. Lives. But after all of this, COVID is likely going to be here to stay. Like the flu does every single year, COVID is beginning to change itself, adapting to the human body. Its natural defenses are prepping it to resist vaccines, giving scientists a possible additional challenge to overcome.

COVID has evolved six main strains of mutation – each given their own letter or letters to differentiate them. In Germany, France, and the US, the “GH” strain is prevalent, while the original “L” strain from Wuhan is almost completely gone. Other strains include the “GR” strain, the “S” and “V” strains, and the root of the most common strains, the “G” strain. Various symptom changes have been observed in different areas, such as multiple reported cases of COVID causing temporary blindness and eye damage.

So how are scientists ever going to create an effective vaccine?

While the mutation and spread of the various forms of COVID-19 has caused quite a bit of panic, it isn’t a massive deal when it comes to making a vaccine. Take the flu, for example: it has a notoriously fast mutation rate, making yearly flu vaccines important. Since the virus is different enough from the previous years, a new vaccine is required. Other viruses, like measles, mutate very slowly, so they only need one set of vaccines and essentially boost your immunity for life. As for COVID? Well, it’s a bit complicated. While COVID doesn’t mutate nearly as fast as the flu, it definitely mutates faster than viruses like the measles, so it’s somewhere in the middle. As of now, though, many predictions give a multi-year timetable for needing a new and improved vaccine (probably something like 3 years).

This somewhat medium rate of mutation gives scientists time to make a working vaccine before the virus mutates too far to create a single vaccine. Because of this, we have a good chance to end the pandemic in the coming months, given that the vaccine works well (which it should).

But what about right now?

Many people are in a bit of a panic after hearing about the mutation of the COVID pandemic. However, it’s not as big of a deal right now, either. In very few cases does a virus become significantly deadlier or more resistant after a mutation. The genetic structure changes some, but the only reason that humans would have anything to fear of the mutation is if COVID somehow becomes a “superbug”. Superbugs, such as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus), are quite dangerous, especially on a large scale. They are highly resistant to antibiotic treatments, making it extremely hard to cure already sick patients. However, the likelihood of COVID becoming a superbug itself is very low. If it does, though, then there may be a reason to really panic.