Ronald Howard3 said:The whole "self-destructing virus" theory in Japan doesn't quite sit right with me. It makes more sense that we've hit a tipping point where enough people have immunity that the virus hasn't managed to mutate fast enough to bypass it. That isn't the virus killing itself off—it's just how our natural defenses work.
Viruses of this nature tend to mutate slowly, gradually becoming less hazardous with each successive iteration. The primary complication here is that this specific virus evolves at a relatively sluggish pace. If it were mutating more rapidly, we might have already seen it become significantly milder—much like what we see hints of with Omicron—or perhaps even burn itself out, which is the theory being whispered regarding what may have occurred in Japan and parts of India.
In fact, certain antiviral strategies actually rely on accelerating these mutations to achieve a similar effect.
Even if we set immune responses aside, a virus can accumulate errors within its spike protein that could eventually render it incapable of latching onto a cell entirely.
In its ancestral state, the virus was animal-based, and it was specifically those initial mutations to that protein that allowed it to bridge the gap and infect human cells.
It is statistically more probable that the virus will eventually hit an evolutionary "sweet spot," where it achieves incredibly high transmissibility while presenting a very mild clinical profile. That is essentially the essence of evolutionary optimization.
Ultimately, time should be our ally in managing this pandemic; the virus will likely settle into a pattern similar to the seasonal flu.
