[ExI] shops opening

[Dylan Distasio]

On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 3:00 PM John Clark via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

> On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 1:34 PM Dylan Distasio via extropy-chat <
> extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
> >>Yes it's new, nobody has seen anything like it before so our knowledge
>>> of it is slight.
>>>
>>
>
> > I*t's not true that we haven't seen anything like it.   It appears to
>> be another coronavirus similar to SARS*
>>
>
> They're both coronaviruses but squirrels  and whales are both mammals. The
> genetic differences between COVID-19 and SARS is far greater than the
> difference between last years mild seasonal flu and the 1918 Spanish flu
> that killed tens of millions.
>

Are you being particularly difficult intentionally?  Your comparison is not
an apt one.  Both SARS and COVID-19 are in the same family of a very
specific type of virus.  They share 78% of their genetic code which may not
seem like alot, but MUCH MORE importantly, they use the same binding
receptor, although COVID-19 appears to bind it more tightly which may
explain why it is more contagious.  Many of the symptoms overlap.  We're
not comparing squirrels and whales here.


>
> > *I'm not pessimistic about a vaccine, John, but I'm not optimistic
>> about one either.  Coronavirus vaccines are not an easy task even if you
>> assume that there is a stable antigenic target.  *
>>
>
>  A Phase 1 clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine started on March 16, and
> there will be lots more, the amount of resources poured into finding a
> vaccine for this thing and finding it fast is unprecedented .
>
> NIH Clinical Trial of a Vaccine for COVID-19
> <https://www.niaid.nih.gov/news-events/nih-clinical-trial-vaccine-covid-19-now-enrolling-older-adults>
>
> John K Clark
>

I'm aware of the resources being poured into vaccine development.  Like I
said, I hope your optimism is warranted.

>
>
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