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this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2024
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The main issue here is that it's the evolution we're talking about. Even if China is exaggerating, it's not a stretch to think that the virus could become infectious or even transmissible among humans. And remember that covid19 has an asymptomatic high transmission phase. Again, it's not a stretch to think that a lower fatality rate or a longer incubation period could lead to a high transmission rate. To put it simply, it's not favorable for even the most incompetent people to play with bioweapons - the resilience of evolutionary biology more than makes up for it.
Yes but ultimately covid 19 had a relatively low fatality rate. It's still high compared to things like cold and flu, but low compared to many other diseases. Before the vaccines, young people generally didn't die, it primarily affected the old and vulnerable.
While it absolutely is a concern - in particular that China is developing these things with apparent malicious intent - there is likely going to be some sort of engineering trade off between fatality and transmitability.