Thread by @doctorow

Jesus fucking christ, I'm STILL hearing from people who think viruses "adapt" by becoming less virulent over time, and that our immune systems "adapt" to viruses, meeting them halfway.

1/

For fuck's fucking sake.

Mutations produce both more dangerous and less dangerous strains (as well as strains that are indistinguishable from their parent strain).

Over the long run, a strain that kills its host can die off - because it kills all of its hosts.

2/

Likewise: over time, we can become more resistant to a virus as a species...after it kills off everyone whose immune system can't fight it off.

3/

Evolution doesn't "want" anything. Pathogens don't "want" anything. The equilibrium of "gentled" viruses and species-wide improved immunity is the result of KILLING OFF MILLIONS IF NOT BILLIONS OF PEOPLE.

4/

And it's only one of the possible pathogenic equilibria that we can arrive at.

Another equilibrium is EXTINCTION.

When a pathogen renders its entire host species extinct, it ceases to reproduce - that is true!

Evolution selects against this.

5/

The selection process is OBLITERATING ALL HOSTS.

If covid-19 mutated to a strain that killed us all, it would be the end of covid-19.

That is a thing that happens with pathogens sometimes.

It's not an outcome we should welcome.

For fuck's fucking sake.

eof/

ETA.

Fucking rabies.

Come on.

RABIES.

If viruses "gentle" over time, what about RABIES?