Scientists sound alarm over new 'worst-ever' super-mutant Covid variant

Jeez. I heard about this last night on the BBC and didn't give it a thought. Now the Dow is down 900 plus points and we're in panic mode again.

Yeah, the markets have taken a Nose Dive, and the VIX has jumped almost 50%. I just hope this isn't the start of another "correction"....which, in reality, is probably overdue.
 

Yep everything is possible, Chic. We'll just have to wait and see and hope this is all an exaggeration... I sincerely hope it is but I fear otherwise... :(
I hope you're wrong. But you are fully vaccinated and you have common sense and know how to survive. Remember, you've been surviving for almost two years!
 
What am I missing here? Granted, I'm not a doc, but I've been told in the past (by docs) that mutations of a virus means it gets weaker and eventually burns itself out. Each iteration of this wuhan virus is stronger than the previous. Is someone tweaking the structure each time?

Last week, there were a few stories of how Africa was mostly untouched by the wuhan. I guess the wuhan lab fixed that oversight.
 

What am I missing here? Granted, I'm not a doc, but I've been told in the past (by docs) that mutations of a virus means it gets weaker and eventually burns itself out. Each iteration of this wuhan virus is stronger than the previous. Is someone tweaking the structure each time?

Last week, there were a few stories of how Africa was mostly untouched by the wuhan. I guess the wuhan lab fixed that oversight.
actually for many months now they've been reporting that the Vaccination was not getting to the people in the poorer countries.. and many were dying because of it
 
The Dow’s range over the last 52 weeks has been between 29,463.64 - 36,565.73.

I wouldn’t panic or use words like tank or nose dive to describe a 900 point drop in the Dow at these levels.

If you have solid investments and allocations consistent with your goals everything will be fine.

“Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it.” - Warren Buffett
 
actually for many months now they've been reporting that the Vaccination was not getting to the in the poorer countries.. and many were dying because of it
Yes. We've also been warned that if Africa doesn't get fully vaccinated for Covid, we will be facing numerous cycles of Covid variants.

Tragically, in Swaziland, Lesotho and Botswana, more than 20% of the population is HIV positive. South Africa is 19%. Sub-Saharan Africa in general continues to be in HIV crisis mode.

That's a lot of human petri dishes for this - and other - viruses to party in and form new variants.
 
Is that frightening you Hols? You can opt to stay in if going out would cause you anxiety.
No Chic..I was pointing out that for the best part of 2 years we've been locked down,so unlikely to have caught the virus ... and suffered big restrictions on our movements ,even still now .

We don't need any more.. I've just got vaccinated and starting to get out and about again.. hoping that after more than 2 years I can get over to my home in Spain .. and I don't want to be stuck in this house again for the 3rd Christmas in a row..not seeing my family and friends..
 
actually for many months now they've been reporting that the Vaccination was not getting to the people in the poorer countries.. and many were dying because of it

That's why the WHO opposed boosters early on in discussions about them. They knew boosters would result in vaccination lag in poorer areas of the world. Many first world countries decided to go ahead with the boosters anyway and now we have a dramatic mutation coming from an impoverished area. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
 
No Chic..I was pointing out that for the best part of 2 years we've been locked down,so unlikely to have caught the virus ... and suffered big restrictions on our movements ,even still now .

We don't need any more.. I've just got vaccinated and starting to get out and about again.. hoping that after more than 2 years I can get over to my home in Spain .. and I don't want to be stuck in this house again for the 3rd Christmas in a row..not seeing my family and friends..
Yes, the very idea of restrictions grinding on ad infinitum is terribly dispiriting. I really thought we were seeing light at the end of the tunnel when Delta numbers started to drop, and have continued to do so this fall.

Hoping this variant turns out to not be more transmissible or severe than previous incarnations.
 
The Dow’s range over the last 52 weeks has been between 29,463.64 - 36,565.73.

I wouldn’t panic or use words like tank or nose dive to describe a 900 point drop in the Dow at these levels.

If you have solid investments and allocations consistent with your goals everything will be fine.

“Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it.” - Warren Buffett

Well, yeah. Maybe it's not a "tank" or a "nose dive." But we're down $40,000 on paper this morning, so that tends to get my attention.
 
If you have solid investments and allocations consistent with your goals everything will be fine.
Or, if you are like me and bought stock in Cruise Lines, not everything will be fine, ha ha. And I guess I really should kiss my safari deposit goodbye.
On the other hand, I've gotten better masks than at the start of the pandemic and I'm clutching to hope that even if 'nu' does turn out to be more lethal and vaccine-dodging, the vaccine companies had told us creating a vaccine for a new variant would not take very long now that the basic development had been done, so although part of me is groaning and banging my head on the wall, I suppose it will work out okay.
 
I agree in many ways with the last 3 posts but I fear that if it's fact, then we're all in for a much rougher ride than the last 2 years
I don't know, Holly, scientists have learned an awful lot over the past 2 years. There have been multiple studies going on in multiple countries by some very astute scientists. It won't be great, but I don't think it will be a rougher ride. Except maybe on social media.
 
Welcome to our future. This virus is going to be around, in various forms, for the foreseeable future. It will continue to mutate, as the populations fail to get vaccinated, and continue to mingle.

There are no shortages of conspiracy theories, and conflicting reports about this virus, and the vast majority of people have NO recourse but to try to follow the suggestions from the doctors and scientists...and Hope that those people are correct.
Don, please. You can't blame variants on people who have not been vaccinated. It doesn't even happen like that. All viruses mutate, it's what they're programmed to do, that's their survival mechanism.
 
We should know more later today. Though B.1.1.529 has the highest level of mutations so far, it isn't clear yet how transmissible it is or the level of disease severity it causes.
It is possible the mutation has made it weaker. As you know, that's usually what happens. Not with all viruses, but with most.
That's why SARS went extinct. It just basically pooped out and fell apart.
 
What am I missing here? Granted, I'm not a doc, but I've been told in the past (by docs) that mutations of a virus means it gets weaker and eventually burns itself out. Each iteration of this wuhan virus is stronger than the previous. Is someone tweaking the structure each time?

Last week, there were a few stories of how Africa was mostly untouched by the wuhan. I guess the wuhan lab fixed that oversight.
yes...mutation causes weakness in all known virus...past science has made this determination....this world tho...who knows what's actually going on.
 

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