Why the Coronavirus Is So Confusing

The causes of the coronavirus pandemic are easy to misunderstand.

By the time the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, came to broad public attention, confusion about exactly what was causing the COVID-19 epidemic was already widespread. Part of the problem may be that, in addition to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus manifests in many other versions. Several coronaviruses are responsible for what is commonly known as the cold, and they have moderate symptoms; two others, including MERS, are infrequent but cause serious illnesses. Scientists believe that hundreds of other coronaviruses, and potentially thousands, are already present just in China’s bat population, which is likely where SARS-CoV-2 originated.

A coronavirus is unlikely to leap from a bat to a vulnerable human, but in many Chinese villages, people live close to bat populations, and with many iterations of the coronavirus, the chances over time become less improbable. And, a single exposure can cause a pandemic. But despite the fact that the coronavirus has many incarnations, SARS-CoV-2 appears to mutate at a predictable rate, and consequently the world is dealing ...