The importance of naturally attenuated SARS-CoV-2in the fight against COVID-19.

Armengaud, Jean;Delaunay-Moisan, Agnès;Thuret, Jean-Yves;van Anken, Eelco;Vicenzi, Elisa;et.al.
(2020) Environmental microbiology — Vol. 22, n° 6, p. 1997-2000 (2020)

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Abstract
The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is wreaking havoc throughout the world and has rapidly become a global health emergency. A central question concerning COVID-19 is why some individuals become sick and others not. Many have pointed already at variation in risk factors between individuals. However, the variable outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infections may, at least in part, be due also to differences between the viral subspecies with which individuals are infected. A more pertinent question is how we are to overcome the current pandemic. A vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 would offer significant relief, although vaccine developers have warned that design, testing and production of vaccines may take a year if not longer. Vaccines are based on a handful of different designs (i), but the earliest vaccines were based on the live, attenuated virus. As has been the case for other viruses during earlier pandemics, SARS-CoV-2 will mutate and may naturally attenuate over time (ii). What makes the current pandemic unique is that, thanks to state-of-the-art nucleic acid sequencing technologies, we can follow in detail how SARS-CoV-2 evolves while it spreads. We argue that knowledge of naturally emerging attenuated SARS-CoV-2 variants across the globe should be of key interest in our fight against the pandemic.
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Armengaud, J., Delaunay-Moisan, A., Thuret, J.-Y., van Anken, E., Acosta-Alvear, D., Aragón, T., Arias, C., Blondel, M., Braakman, I., Collet, J.-F., Courcol, R., Danchin, A., Deleuze, J.-F., Lavigne, J.-P., Lucas, S., Michiels, T., Moore, E. R. B., Nixon-Abell, J., Rossello-Mora, R., et al. (2020). The importance of naturally attenuated SARS-CoV-2in the fight against COVID-19. Environmental microbiology, 22(6), 1997-2000. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.15039 (Original work published 2020)