Comment by dualvariable

> b) COVID got significantly less deadly as it evolved, which is a known phenomenon that should also apply to this plague

No, it isn't a known phenomenon, and no, that isn't what happened.

Transmissibility and virulence are actually linked.

Delta was more transmissible and was more deadly, not less. Omicron was also highly transmissible and highly deadly.

Viral replication is also linked to both transmissibility and virulence, and that also increased with Delta and Omicron.

The headlines that Omicron was less virulent were falsified when Omicron hit Taiwan (a largely immune-naive elderly population) and was every bit as deadly as Delta was.

What happened to make later strains less deadly was the evolution of the human immune system since pretty much everyone became vaccinated or recovered and acquired T-cells that would recognize later strains.

The virus only "cares" if it becomes so virulent that it kills you before it spreads. The way that COVID kills, long after the presymptomatic shedding period, after several weeks, doesn't matter--you can dial it up and make that worse, and you won't prevent the virus from spreading.