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Comment by user_50123890 | Hacker News Reader

I don't think the mutations are the reason for asymptomatic cases. Coronaviruses mutate very slowly.

More likely, viral load, immune system strength, overall age and the genetics of the person infected are what determines if the infection is fought off before any symptoms are shown

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I address this exact point in my post. This has nothing to do with the proposal.

For my own understanding: where can I read about how coronaviruses mutate slowly?

It is deemed to have an RNA repair mechanism. This is suggested by analogy with other coronaviruses [1,2] and the length of its RNA of ~30k nucleotides while the upper limit for RNA without repair mechanism seems to be 10k [3]. The german wikipedia cites [4] which I found nicer to read.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus#Replication [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4984655/ [3] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronaviridae#Genom [4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3127101/

And anyways, the harsh lockdowns currently implemented are basically forcing the virus to evolve into being asymptomatic. Currently, anyone with even mild flu-like symptoms stays home

pardon my ignorance, but is that a good thing or a bad thing? (the first part)

What is viral load, and doesn't it eventually become the same for everyone infected after some time during which the virus multiplies?

My understanding (not an expert) is that there is a difference depending how much of an initial dose of the virus you get. If it is very small then your immune system has more time to respond before the virus replicates to dangerously large numbers, whereas if your initial dose is large then you are starting with a large number of virus particles that replicate too fast for your immune system to respond.

Yeah I think it makes a lot of difference. See doctors at hospitals... even youngs pass out. (I think in a higher rate than usual.)

Yes, that is the discussion I have heard, that healthcare workers without proper PPE get larger doses than those with the right gear and are more likely to fall ill. Same effect applies to the average person in public when exposed to an infected person who may not be showing systems - even imperfect PPE reduces their initial dose and increases their odds of having a less severe infection.

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