The father of the theory of the evolution of species, Charles Darwin (1802-1882), I would be very happy today to see how one of the central elements of his theory is corroborated by the evolution of the pandemic. Indeed, we are witnessing, live and direct, the mutual adaptation of human beings and a new type of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Some beings, viruses in general, at the limit of what is considered life, that are testing the adaptability of more complex living beings, humans. Something that has happened, and will continue to happen, throughout the history of life on the planet. We are here in part because of this ability to adapt, of each other.
Let’s not forget that, according to the most reliable data, this coronavirus jumped from a bat or a pangolin to humans there – for us – in Wuhan (China), and from there it has spread at the speed of the plane throughout the world. planet, provided it has found a susceptible person to continue reproducing and existing. Now, after two years of this fortuitous event, like our own existence, we are watching again as the virus it has changed, once again, to continue existing with the omicron variant. It is the logic of the living that François Jacobs (1920-2013) teaches us.
A variant, already prevalent in many countries – I still feel ashamed with the attempt to mark South Africa as “guilty” -, which is reproduced faster than the previous variants. That is why it is the variant, of the many that are produced continuously, that has expanded. But it is also, and that’s the other side of the coin, the variant that produces milder disease, according to the reliable information that we have. A fact that was expected, because among other reasons humans have begun to know and identify it, developing our defenses.
This is, the sophisticated adaptation mechanism of humans, which has fabulous immune systemsor, try to neutralize the virus to also continue to exist as a living being. The big difference is that humans, in addition to the immune system integrated into our biological structures, took a gigantic leap in evolution some time ago, and through collaboration with each other we build something we call society, capable of producing and accumulating knowledge. (science) and institutions (politics) with the capacity to protect ourselves through a genius invention such as effective vaccines and their efficient distribution. So that, either by a natural or artificial route, We are learning to defend ourselves against the virus and its different variants. Obviously, and as we are seeing around us every day, the natural way of acquiring immunity, unlike the artificial one through the vaccine, has the risk of suffering from the disease in its most serious manifestation and even dying.
Related news
So that, we can think, with some probability that it is true, that this virus will visit us periodically with different variants in the coming years or decades. As has happened, until now, with the influenza virus after the 1918 pandemic. Then the ‘plagued’ were the Spanish. Likewise, we can also think beyond any reasonable doubt that humans, with the necessary science and policy, are improving our ability to advance to these changes and have vaccines, each time more effective and for each of these variants that will inevitably appear. Vaccines for all humanity.
We are tired, almost about to throw in the towel, and understandably, there is the temptation to accept that sooner or later we will encounter the virus. The point is, as it can be deduced from the theory of evolution, that this encounter will not prevent the next encounter with another variant, and that ‘natural’ encounter has a high cost, for each of us, and for one of our most important institutions. valuable, among all those that we have invented throughout humanity: the health system. Getting vaccinated regularly is the best solution, for us and for our healthcare system. Other variants will come.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com