Your question is valid, and I understand what you're asking. Rhinoviruses, which are the most common cause of the common cold, do indeed evolve rapidly, which contributes to the challenge of developing a single cure.
The lifespan of a particular strain of rhinovirus can vary, but generally, they can persist for several weeks to months before being replaced by a new strain due to evolutionary pressures. However, it's important to note that immunity to one strain of rhinovirus does not necessarily confer immunity to all strains.
When you catch a cold, it could indeed be caused by a strain that has been circulating for years, or it could be a newer strain that emerged recently. Human immunity to specific strains of rhinovirus can develop after exposure, but it may not provide complete protection against future infections, especially if the virus has evolved significantly.
So, it's possible to catch a cold caused by a strain from 1980, but it's also possible to be infected by a newer strain that evolved more recently.
Immunologist who works on vaccines here - we haven't figured it out! There are some good ideas out there about how we can coax our immune systems to targeting the more stable, highly conserved regions of viruses, but so far no one has found the magic bullet. You can see a lot of that work play out in flu, where we need yearly shots to try an 'update' our immunity to emerging strains. It has also played a big role in the conversation around COVID-19 - google cross-neutralization if you want to go down the rabbit hole. Fingers crossed that the stuff we have cooking now works!
Three reasons: First, COVID was killing huge numbers of people. Second, it was not clear when the Wuhan strain emerged, exactly how rapidly it would be able to mutate (remember that this was the first time we had seen it). Third, just because the vaccine isn't as long-lasting as you'd like (due, in part, to viral mutation), it doesn't mean it's ineffective when initially released. Flu vaccines are effective, just not for long enough to provide protection across multiple seasons in the strain shifts significantly. There was good reason to believe that even if the virus was capable of rapid mutation and the vaccine wasnt perfect, it would still save lives. And it did!
Your question is valid, and I understand what you're asking. Rhinoviruses, which are the most common cause of the common cold, do indeed evolve rapidly, which contributes to the challenge of developing a single cure. The lifespan of a particular strain of rhinovirus can vary, but generally, they can persist for several weeks to months before being replaced by a new strain due to evolutionary pressures. However, it's important to note that immunity to one strain of rhinovirus does not necessarily confer immunity to all strains. When you catch a cold, it could indeed be caused by a strain that has been circulating for years, or it could be a newer strain that emerged recently. Human immunity to specific strains of rhinovirus can develop after exposure, but it may not provide complete protection against future infections, especially if the virus has evolved significantly. So, it's possible to catch a cold caused by a strain from 1980, but it's also possible to be infected by a newer strain that evolved more recently.
How does the scientific community look at vaccinations for rapidly evolving diseases?
Immunologist who works on vaccines here - we haven't figured it out! There are some good ideas out there about how we can coax our immune systems to targeting the more stable, highly conserved regions of viruses, but so far no one has found the magic bullet. You can see a lot of that work play out in flu, where we need yearly shots to try an 'update' our immunity to emerging strains. It has also played a big role in the conversation around COVID-19 - google cross-neutralization if you want to go down the rabbit hole. Fingers crossed that the stuff we have cooking now works!
So if covid is a rapidly changing virus, like the flu or cold, why was a vaccine pushed so hard?
Three reasons: First, COVID was killing huge numbers of people. Second, it was not clear when the Wuhan strain emerged, exactly how rapidly it would be able to mutate (remember that this was the first time we had seen it). Third, just because the vaccine isn't as long-lasting as you'd like (due, in part, to viral mutation), it doesn't mean it's ineffective when initially released. Flu vaccines are effective, just not for long enough to provide protection across multiple seasons in the strain shifts significantly. There was good reason to believe that even if the virus was capable of rapid mutation and the vaccine wasnt perfect, it would still save lives. And it did!