Viper16 said:
eric76 said:
The real danger from omicron is probably in the increased chance that someone could be infected with two variants at the same time and create a new reassortment of the covid virus.
That is absolute hogwash.....please source this from any documentation you have.
Not hogwash at all.
Our knowledge about RNA viruses and reasssortment goes back for many years. I first heard about it while watching a recorded medical seminar in the mid 1980s. I was intrigued by the process and tend to read reports about the subject.
It is best known with influenza viruses. Look at the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. I understand that it has also been shown to happen with other viruses.
I have been hoping that it would not happen with coronaviruses, but there are reports that it can happen.
There's no need to panic about it, though. Even if it can happen with coronaviruses, it should be quite rare. It could possibly happen today or it might not happen in our lifetime.
Even though it should be relatively unusual, it is something that we should be aware of so that if it does happen, we might be more ready to react to it.