Is it possible that the most serious variants arise not in large populations, but in immunosuppressed individuals? The virus is capable of surviving for months and upwards of a year or more within immunosuppressed hosts. There are two such examples of extraneous viral passaging in human hosts: Covid-19 in immunosuppressed patients and instances of long Covid. Immunosuppressed hosts are more easily invaded and the virus is more capable of efficiently replicating upon infection. Not all long Covid cases are within immunosuppressed hosts, but similar principles apply.

Source: Forbes November 01, 2021 23:02 UTC