ABOVE: COVERT
The genome of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has remained relatively stable during its global spread, suggesting that a vaccine could confer long-term protection, according to The Washington Post. Although all replicating viruses accumulate some mutations that persist due to natural selection, the genetics of SARS-CoV-2 suggest that it is not mutating at a high rate, researchers report. They tell the Post that the virus’s proofreading machinery reduces both the rate of mutation and the error rate, and that no strains appear to be more dangerous than others.
There exist roughly four to 10 genetic differences between the origin virus from Wuhan and the strains currently circulating in the United States, molecular geneticist Peter Thielen of Johns Hopkins University tells the Post. “That’s a relatively small number of mutations for having passed through a large number of people,” he says. “At this point, the mutation rate of the virus ...
