There has been a LOT of talk in the media, various forums, twitter, etc, about "herd immunity" in regards to the corona virus pandemic.
The idea, basically, is that if enough people catch and subsequently become immune to the virus, the virus will "look around" for new hosts within the population, as some have suggested, and finding none available, recede and eventually die out.
That "looking around" suggests viruses are alive, seeking to reproduce like bacteria and fungi.
Scientists know that viruses aren't "alive" in a strict biological sense—they don't have active intelligence that "looks around", or reproduce themselves independently like bacteria. As Dr Kevin Stillwagon explains:
"A virus is not even a living thing. It's just a package of genetic material inside of a shell that's made of proteins and fats. It's not alive, it has no intelligence, nor the desire to attack you."
Login or request an account to read the remainder of this article, and to post comments.