Comments by "Dale Crocker" (@dalecrocker3213) on "Understanding what's driving coronavirus mutations | COVID-19 Special" video.

The UK variant has developed as a direct result of lockdowns. It has evolved to combat them. There are certainly vaccine-resistant variants out there. Unless herd immunity is reached pretty damned quickly we are in serious trouble.
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@El Chupacabra I am fully aware that viruses are not sentient. They do, however, exist in such astronomical numbers that even at a low rate of mutation a variant will inevitably occur which is marginally more swift and efficient than other strains. When there is a readily available pool of subjects this does not bring any special advantage. When the pool of subjects is reduced - via lockdowns - there is competition and the slightly more efficient strain gets in first, reproduces more quickly and so grows in number to become the dominant strain. Therefore the UK variant has developed as a direct result of lockdowns. It has evolved to combat them.
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@xponen Interesting. I was under the impression that the variant was one of many tens of thousands of random mutations, but one in which a slight alteration to the protein of the spikes made them more swift and efficient in the business of penetrating cells. In the normal course of events this brought no particular advantage but when the pool of available subjects was reduced due to lockdowns it enabled this variant to come to the fore. I find it hard to imagine how a virus can "learn" anything while infecting cells, but there must be something in it. I will look it up. Thankyou.
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@El Chupacabra I hear what you are saying but I would contend that the numbers of the viruses are so incomprehensibly vast that practically all physically possible mutations must already exist. Where there is no competition such mutations gain no particular advantage, There's plenty of territory to go round, as it were. When the territory is reduced -via lockdowns - this small advantage is sufficient for the slightly more efficient strain to establish dominance. This strikes me as a clear illustration of evolution at work. Those organisms which adapt most readily to altered circumstances are the ones which survive and breed. In such a situation attempting to reduce the number of potentially harmful mutations by restricting the number of transmissions strikes me as something of a fool's errand. The mutations are already out there. They only need an altered circumstance in order for their particular characteristic to bring them advantage.
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@El Chupacabra Because there's plenty to go round. The rather crude analogy I use is to imagine a vast rolling plain packed with zebras. There are lions and cheetahs about but both do equally well because all they have to do is pop out for a few minutes to nab a zebra. Suddenly the god of the zebras removes most of the zebras, just leaving a few small groups to wander around the vast rolling plain. All at once the cheetahs have an advantage. They are faster than lions and even faster than the zebras when it comes to that all-important final burst. They get their dinner and the lion doesn't.
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@cloudpoint0 Thanks for the information. You obviously know what you're talking about. Until now I've been led to believe that immunity meant just that ie if your vaccination has been successful or you have had the disease and recovered from it then it would be very exceptional for you to fall victim. And herd immunity means that if sufficient immune people exist then the virus can find few routes to non-immune subjects and thus nearly dies out. So if a vaccine resistant (or natural immunity resistant) variant exists, then there would be very little we could do to prevent it from spreading. Is this indeed the case?
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@El Chupacabra Thankyou. It has been an interesting conversation. Obviously we are in disagreement on a number of points and will remain so - but that is only natural. Sleep well!
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