SARS-CoV-2 is the coronavirus that causes the disease “COVID-19”.
SARS-CoV-2 is a variant of a previously identified coronavirus in bats. (No, this isn’t a discussion of how or where that variance happened). No surprise, because mutate is what viruses do. But it was a variant, and got a new name.
We’re now up to four “versions” of SARS-CoV-2: the original strain, B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1. These “SARS-CoV-2” variants have differing spike proteins and genetic sequences. So…
Are there any virologists out there who can tell me exactly how many mutations, and what sort, we need before we stop calling new variants “SARS-CoV-2,” and decide there’s yet another “novel coronavirus”? And when we stop calling the disease the new “novel coronavirus” causes “COVID-19”?
Or are we simply going to keep expanding the definition of “SARS-CoV-2” forever just so the so-called authorities can keep “justifying” stupid, ineffective masks, lockdowns, and near-total control of people in a fashion that would make Stalin proud?
Seriously: When the virus has changed so much that you doubt the efficacy of a vaccine or antibodies developed for the original strain, isn’t it time to call it something else, and stop padding the “COVID-19” numbers?
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Related question: are there any previously unnoticed human coronaviruses that, under current criteria, would be classified as strains of SARS-CoV-2 if they were discovered today? Things that might perchance have been hanging around forever causing symptoms similar to those of the common cold?
Without knowing how they define strains, I don’t know. But it wouldn’t surprise me. There certainly are, if you were to define it as “pop positive in the RT-PCR or Rapid Antigen tests.”