>> WELL, SO FAR IN THIS RACE ER
WITH WINNING, BUT THE VIRUS IS
VOLCANIC VERY, VERY QUICKLY.
THE VACCINES THAT WE HAVE RIGHT
NOW THAT ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE
DO WORK AGAINST THE MAIN
VARIANTS.
THEY DON’T WORK AS WELL, BUT
THEY STILL WORK.
AND THAT IS THE KEY THING TO
KNOW.
SO IT IS A RACE TO GET THE
VACCINES OUT BEFORE THIS VIRUS
CONTINUES TO EVOLVE BECAUSE THIS
IS A BATTLE AGAINST EVOLUTION.
WE UNDERSTAND EVOLUTION SORT OF
IN HUMAN TERMS OR IN MAMMAL
TERMS, IT HAPPENS VERY, VERY
SLOWLY.
YOU AND I EVOLVED.
IT HAPPENS OVER GENERATIONS.
IT HAPPENS OVER MILLIONS OF
YEARS.
BECAUSE WE ARE MADE OF DNA, DNA
IS RELATIVELY STABLE, WE HAVE
LONG LIFE SPANS, RELATIVELY
SPEAKING, AND THERE AREN’T THAT
MANY OF US, SO EVOLUTION TAKES A
LONG TIME.
VIRUSES ARE MADE OF RNA.
THEY MUTATE MORE EASILY, AND
THERE ARE TRILLIONS AND
TRILLIONS OF VIRUSES OUT THERE
AND THEY ONLY LIVE GENERALLY A
FEW HOURS.
SO WITH EACH PRODUCTION, EACH
GENERATION OF VIRUSES, THERE ARE
OPPORTUNITIES TO MUTATE,
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENTS,
AND THAT’S WITH A WE’VE SEEN
NOW.
WE’VE SEEN THE VIRUS OVER TIME
BECAUSE IT HAS HAD SO MUCH ROOM
TO REPLICATE.
IT HAS HAD IMPROVEMENTS
ACCIDENTALLY, AND THOSE
IMPROVEMENTS ARE PROPELLING
THEMSELVES FORWARD, CREATING
THESE NEW STRAINS.
THE SCIENTISTS ARE TRYING TO
QUICKLY ADJUST THE TECHNOLOGY SO
THAT THEY CAN COMPENSATE AS THE
VIRUS EVOLVES AT THE SPEED OF
VIRAL EVOLUTION.
>> RICHARD, AT SOME JUNCTURE,
OUR ATTEMPTS TO GET HERD
IMMUNITY AND LOTS OF PEOPLE
VACCINATED, WE HOPE, WE OVERTAKE
THE FACT THAT THE VIRUS IS
MUTATING AND IT WILL BE
AFFECTING FEWER AND FEWER PEOPLE
AND WE WILL HAVE DEVELOPED IS
CERTAIN IMMUNITY.
IS THERE A POINT AT WHICH WE
LOOK LIKE WE’RE IN CONTROL OF
THIS SITUATION?
>> WELL, HERD IMMUNITY IS A
FUNNY CONCEPT BECAUSE WITH THE
VARIANTS, HERD IMMUNITY DOESN’T
ALWAYS APPLY BECAUSE -- THERE
WAS A CITY IN BRAZIL, MANAOS.
THEY HAD HUGE PERCENTAGE OF THE
POPULATION THAT WAS INFECTED,
ABOUT 70%, SOME SAY 80% OF THE
POPULATION HAD THE CORONAVIRUS.
THEN A NEW STRAIN CAME, AND THE
FACT THAT THEY HAD BEEN INFECTED
BEFORE DIDN’T HELP THEM.
THEIR PREVIOUS INFECTIONS GAVE
THEM NO PROTECTION BECAUSE THEY
WERE PROTECTED FROM SOMETHING
THAT WAS NO LONGER RELEVANT.
THE VIRUS HAD CHANGED.
SO THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS
NOT NECESSARILY JUST HERD
IMMUNITY.
IF YOU JUST LET THIS VIRUS GO
AND DON’T BATTLE IT WITH THE
VACCINES, IT WILL CONTINUE TO
CHANGE AND YOUR PREVIOUS
INFECTIONS MIGHT NO HELP YOU
VERY MUCH.
BUT THE KEY THING IS TO DRIVE
DOWN THE NUMBERS BECAUSE THE
RATE AT WHICH THE VIRUS MUTATES
IS A FACTOR OF HOW MUCH THERE IS
OUT THERE.
SO IF YOU CAN SHRINK IT, IF YOU
CAN REDUCE THE GENERAL AMOUNT OF
VIRUS ON THE PLANET, IT WILL
STILL MUTATE, BUT THERE WILL BE
LESS OF IT.
IT WILL BE MUCH MORE CONTROLLED
AND IT WILL MUTATE LESS
FREQUENTLY BECAUSE THERE WILL BE
FEWER OPTIONS FOR IT TO DO THAT.
SO THE WAY TO ACHIEVE THE HERD
IMMUNITY EFFECT IS BY GETTING