One of the trending COVID-19 questions today: Is coronavirus weakening its infection towards humans? Some studies already showed yes, but here's another more recent research showing that the virus is beyond losing its power. In fact, the virus is suggested to be three times to six times more infectious than its first spread in China. Here's the study.
How is the virus getting worse?
Have you been getting out lately? If yes, here's a warning for you. Sorry to burst your freedom, but the Coronavirus is not weakening, based on the Thursday report of few well-known universities in the United Kingdom and the United States.
A study, published in Cell, says that instead of lowering the virus' potency, the SARS-CoV-2 is now more dangerous than ever. They suggest that the virus strand could be three times up to six times more infectious these past few months. This was compared to its first potency level, back in China, where it originated.
Researchers from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and Duke University in North Carolina partnered with the University of Sheffield's COVID-19 Genomics UK research group to identify the real deal behind the infectious level of SARS-CoV-2.
Using the current virus variant named "D614G," the researchers laid down all their assumptions that the virus is getting stronger than it was supposed to be. They found that there has been a change in the 'spike' protein of the surface of the virus, thus, making it more viral to transmit from a person to another person.
"It seems likely that it's a fitter virus," said Erica Ollmann Saphire, who carried out one of the experiments at La Jolla Institute for Immunology.
Too early to be a warning
Though the team did found some changes in the spike protein of the virus, it is still based on 'probability.' There is still no sufficient evidence proving that the virus does have a more infectious level than before.
Anthony Fauci, the U.S top infectious disease specialist, commented on the said research study by saying that "the data is showing that there is a single mutation that actually makes the virus be able to replicate better, and maybe have high viral loads. We don't have a connection to whether an individual does worse with this or not. It just seems that the virus replicates better and maybe more transmissible, but this is still at the stage of trying to confirm that."
Who says the virus is weakening?
On June 21, Fox News reported about the assumption that the Coronavirus has weaker potency than before.
Dr. Matteo Bassetti, the head of the infectious diseases clinic at the San Martino hospital, told the media that the virus seemed to be showing less potency, maybe due to its genetic mutations over the months.
For now, the United States government still advised everyone to stay-at-home as much as possible. Until the study really proves a fact.
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