Confirmed by scientists in Iceland March 25, 40 mutations were found in coronavirus patients, where the DeoxyribonNucleic Acid [DNA] was examined to determine varieties of the virus coming from different countries. Biopharmaceutical company deCODE tested 9,768 patients with varying severity of infections. Five thousand patients who showed no symptoms at all participated in the study, finding that only 48 out of 5,000 or .96% had no symptoms but carried the virus. Scientists examined differences in the virus from various countries, including Austria, Italy and England, finding coronavirus AKA SARS CoV-2 or Covid-19 having different lethality indexes dependent on the origin of the virus. “Some came from Austria,” Karl Stefansson, director of deCODE said. Variants of the novel coronavirus make big difference when it comes to mortality rates.
Varieties of the coronvirus make big difference when it comes to lethality as measured by death rates in different countries. “There is another type [genome] from people who were infected in Italy. And there is another type found in people infected in England.” While the deCODE study has not been replicated, the findings are significant. Alan Randrump Thomsen, a virologist with the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Copenhagen, said, it “makes good sense.” DeCODE’s findings corroborate as study from China indicating that the novel coronaviurs has at least two separate types, one more aggressive than the other. “It is interesting with the 40 specific variants that fall into three clusters that can be traced back to specific sources of infection,” said Thomsen. Thomsen thinks deCODE’s findings corroborates the Chinese genome study finding different strains.
Death rates from the novel cornavirus globally average 4.5%, only slightly higher than the rate from Wuhan, China at 4%. When you look at Italy with 80,589 total cases and 8.215 deaths, the mortality rate is 10.5%, the most deadly variant of the virus. Aging populations, pre-existing medical conditions and population density play a minor role in mortality rates in different countries.. Spain has 64.069 total cases with 4,934 deaths, for a mortality rate of 7.7%, also well above the world death rate of 4.5%. “Coronavirus is known as a virus that can mutate reasonably violently. We have seen reports of variants from China already. That way, it fits with what one expects,” Thomsen said. When you look at the mortality rate in the United States, deCODE’s cornonavirus mutation findings make complete sense. With 86,548 total cases and 1.321 deaths, the U.S. mortality rate is only 1.5%.
New York has become the epicenter of the U.S. novel cornavirus epidemic, recording 44,635 active cases and 519 deaths for a mortality rate of 1.16%, attesting to the less lethal variety. “Over time, it’s likely that the new virus will become more contagious, but the variants that cause severe symptoms may die out,” said Dr. Derek Gatherer, an infectious disease specialist at U.K.’s Lancaster University. Recent reports from New York City hospitals indicate that less patients require ventilators, something Gov. Andrew Cumo demanded from the federal government. Based on the best data available, the current outbreak in New York City shows infections with the less severe novel coronavirus variants. With a mortality rate of 1,16%, it’s well below the national average of 1.4%. With all the panic sowed by elected officials and the media, the public has right to know the actual risks.
When 73-year-old President Donald Trump and his Coronavirus Task Force meet this weekend to plot a course to reopen U.S. businesses, they’ll study the best evidence available. Balancing the dangers of novel coronavirus in the U.S. against the damage to the U.S. economy done by “shelter in place” orders, preventing large sectors of the population from working, the White House will have to make a sound judgment. Mortality rates in the U.S. indicate that the novel coronavirus, currently infecting New York and other U.S. states, is the less deadly strain, posing a much lower risk to the U.S. population. As deCODE’s Thomsen points out, not all novel coronaviruses are the same, with the U.S. dealing with the less lethal variety. If more virologists, like Gatherer, confirm that the novel coronavirus has mutated enough that it’s no longer a deadly threat, then it helps the White House decide what to do.
Passing a $2.2 trillion relief package to help with the economic damage from closing down large sectors of American business is a drop in the bucket compared to the lasting damage from shutting down the economy. If getting the less deadly strain of the virus means mild flu like symptoms, it’s not worth current “shelter in place” orders coming from state officials, preventing people form working. Government officials can’t stop the common cold or seasonal flu outbreaks that routinely disable and kill thousands of citizens each year. All the panic and misinformation disseminated by elected officials and the media has damaged the U.S. economy. If something isn’t done soon to restart the U.S. economy, the country could face not a Great Recession but another Great Depression. Deaths from novel coronavirus would be eclipsed by deaths from an economic calamity.
