Not full sequencing— the “variant” is the S-Protein genomic, and unless they can match every single instance of the FULL genomic for a “new” variant— that is for the entire S-Protein encoding, it cannot be proven to do anything this “article” says it is able to do.
The natural immunity of survivors of Covid-19 is not only to the infection modality, but also to the full virion genetic component, that is, the complete code of the infection virus inserted by the mRNA in those who were infected by the virus from the virion.
They will have to have a lot more data to make broad statements about immunity.
Spanish influenza as a mutation remains in the world, and has mutated many times since. And the sequence is included in every year’s influenza formula.
I think you’re largely right about the concept of modality of infection and how one defends. In contrast to antibody interfering with receptors and preventing ensnare of the virus floating by.
But in an over-riding way, it seems unwise to lean on and have confidence in a natural immunity process facing an unnatural, artificial virus. Odds pretty high there was no animal crossover source.
“Spanish influenza as a mutation remains in the world”
I was just reading this fascinating piece about what has happened to the flu -
https://eugyppius.substack.com/p/the-disappearance-of-influenza
The writer postulates that the seasonal flues we all have known are descendants of the 1918 flu strain, which suddenly appeared in the population. We don’t have samples before 1918 to know, but the quick spreading meant the society must have had little or no immunity to it. As we have dealt with it, we have built up better resistance through exposure.
COVID seems to have knocked the flu virus out of circulation, and maybe the 1918 flu did the same thing to whatever came before it - maybe another corona virus.
But, if you need more to worry about, what if we eradicate COVID, only to discover we now, as a society, have no resistance to an H1N1 flu stain? ... again?