(Mutations, Spreading, and Other Fun Things to Think About) Fact of the week included!
Opinion Segments Head
Jacqueline Crivello
These months keep getting more interesting as they progress. As the bars and restaurants opened up on May 21st, more and more people have been going out, which makes sense since we have been inside for so long. The days have merged into each other, and it seems like people are tired of the guidelines keeping us safe and are going out and doing normal social interaction, as is natural human behavior. The problem that is occurring, however, is the lack of wearing masks and distancing at restaurants and bars, as well as any public place. As COVID cases rise once again, scientists have noticed a new mutation, which shows a slowdown in new deaths. This is certainly an improvement from the last spike in cases, specifically with the elderly. All of this is trial and error, and we as a community will need to wait this rollercoaster out until there is a vaccine.
The first spike of COVID-19 was surprising as well as scary and many deaths occurred because of it. Around 5,936 deaths have been confirmed in California and 129,000 deaths in the United States. The number of deaths have seemed to slow down not only because of the mutations, but because younger people have been out more, rather than adults. This clearly is a very smart virus and its goal is to survive, and because there were many deaths in the beginning, the virus has figured out how to continue spreading effectively. Like all viruses, its basic goal is to survive and mutate until the effectiveness is achieved. That is why COVID-19 probably will never fully disappear. To give a little insight into what this virus is doing, we have to think scientifically. What COVID-19 was doing during the big spike in March and April was killing its host (humans). Viruses need a host to survive and people were dying too quickly for its survival, so it began to mutate slowly, which enabled it to reproduce for a lifetime. The science behind the mutation is quite simple. About 1,300 amino acids serve as building blocks for a protein on the surface of the virus, and in this mutant virus the instructions for the mutant virus switched from “D” (short for aspartic acid) to “G” (short for glycine). This shift was actually significant for us because the switch occurred in a certain part of the genome that codes all the important “spike protein” which gives corona a crownlike structure. This mutation does not appear to make people sicker, but more contagious, so that is exactly why we should really take precautions right now.
So now lets really get into why there have been so many more cases as of June 2020. As I said before, the main cause of the spread is because of the lack of distancing and taking the needed precautions. There is speculation that the recent protests caused quite a bit of spread throughout our community, but our local health department is unwilling to confirm that and it is still being studied. There has been a noticeable increase with the cases in San Diego County and as of today (June 30), there have been 14,149 confirmed cases and 365 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
(San Diego Union Tribune)
There is also a noticeable rise in cases because more testing is available. We were not really prepared for this pandemic, so there weren’t many options to get tested in the beginning. But now testing is readily available. Below is a graph of daily testing taking place, and the positive results.
The Upside - Fact of the Week
Spanish Flu
In 1918, although this killed millions of people, the Spanish Flu went away without a vaccine, which gives us some hope. This flu actually did not originate in Spain as some may assume, and the location is still unknown. France, China, Britain and the US have all been suggested as a potential source, but there still is not substantial evidence.
SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)
This virus became active in July of 2003 and within 8 months it was gone. No vaccine was needed.
The Swine Flu
This became active in 2009, and it is called the swine flu because it came for pigs. This did not go away by itself, but the flu shot was thankfully created, and it targets the source (ex. H1N1, H1N2). In 2010, the World Health Organization confirmed that the swine flu pandemic was officially over.
Coronavirus
This is closest tied to SARS because of the respiratory issue that occurs with both. Both are “COVID.”
So let's hope Covid-19 goes in the same direction as SARS and is over with in 8 months!!
To recap, this virus has had noticeable mutations and has become more contagious. What has been helping it spread is the increase in visitations to restaurants and public places. Our job right now is to wash our hands (A LOT), wear a mask, and try to keep distance from others (especially those who are elderly or have preexisting lung, heart, or health conditions) until things change in mutation (killing itself off), or we have a vaccine which will put an end to this craziness!
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