IMO, it is of some moment that the COVID-19 viral strains spread throughout Asia largely lack ORF8. In contrast, the USA (which does have ORF8 COVID-19 viral strains) has about 20% of the world’s deaths, but we are less than 5% of the world’s population. On its face, this looks suspiciously like a bioweapon attack; especially because of the existence of more virulent viral strains that could be used for targeted attacks against "undesirable" (read "deplorable") individuals — while "regular" COVID provides a smokescreen of sorts for such targeting. In any case, our economic loss has been profound. And, the COVID-19 virus likely has less than natural beginnings (see, e.g., https://t.co/SuouPc7IP8).It’s interesting (if not completely encouraging), that the ORF8 viral sequence of the COVID-19 viral genome is deleting from the COVID-19 virus over time - as occurred around 2002 with SARS-CoV-1 (just as if that’s an engineered feature). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2020.104525. So, even if ORF8 strains were used to target a particular individual, collateral damage would be somewhat limited.
The pernicious ability of COVID-19 for immune evasion is attributable to ORF8. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.25.267328. "[T]he clinical spectrum of this disease can be very heterogenous." https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30232-2. Genetically diverse strains of SARS-CoV-2 (which results in COVID-19) have been observed with no difference in patient viral load (titers) and, yet, with significantly higher replicative fitness and apparent evasion of any robust antibody response. https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01610-20.
So (given viral strains with and without ORF8), there is extreme outcome disparity with this disease — leading to an impassible divide in reasonable opinions, which sows disquietude, consistent with CCP China’s unrestricted war concepts. https://archive.org/details/DTIC_ADA509132. Also of some benefit to the CCP Chinese, planned or not, contracting COVID-19 without the ORF8 not only greatly lessens lethality and increases survivability, but survivors can be expected to obtain at least some immunity from COVID-19 (even ORF8 viral strains).
And, COVID-19 can never be eliminated from the general population with even draconian quarantine-type practices and orders. Medicine can’t stop a virus with such titers, recalcitrant environmental persistence, and transmissibility factors. IMO, inevitably ALL of the population of the "free world" will contract COVID-19 at some point. The data that public health officials should be on the lookout for is the ORF8 COVID-19 virus strain, or the release of a new viral plague such as Bill and Melinda suggested a couple of months ago ("they’ll pay attention this time").
1) What if the COVID-19 virus was engineered (with multiple versions/strains)?
2) & COVID-19 (with the phenomenal transmissibility of all strains of the virus, and overall seemingly off and on lethality when diverse patient outcomes are evaluated) works as designed?
3) & COVID-19 has long-term consequences as it persists and disseminates throughout body systems — going past the blood-brain barrier in many cases — causing lengthy (at least temporary) disability?
4) What’s the end-goal?
Current events will go hot. Up until now, we’ve been weathering a CCP China largely non-kinetic war (with some rioting, just so that we know the situation is serious), primarily by means of quisling fifth-column elements. It’s interesting that (as did the putschist Russian communists, the putschist Nazis, the putschist Chinese communists, etc., etc.) current putschist elements in the USA are using the broken, the disenfranchised, and sociopaths to try to foment revolution.
Reasonable-minded good people on the "Left" and the "Right" share the same common enemy: dark elitist would-be platonic philosopher kings with voracious avarice in their cold hearts, and lacking in any basic human empathy or even shreds of decency.
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As an aside, here’s an analogy for COVID-19 based on transmissibility and lethality (i.e., presence or absence of ORF8 in a COVID-19 viral strain): 🐜 Ants in a pit that you fall in:
1) one ant and it bites;
2) millions of biting ants, but you can hop out;
3) #2, but you have major health issues;
4) #2, but you are passed out drunk (i.e., the presence of ORF8 in the viral strain contracted).
Will you die?