Not sure what "related" means in this article.
In addition to the dozen people in the Nordic country already infected with the mutated strain of the virus, about half of the 783 human COVID-19 cases in northern Denmark are “related” to mink, Health Minister Magnus Heunicke has said.
Last summer I listened to a podcast that was a deep dive into the 1918 pandemic. Since it was a podcast not only can't I quote some lines but I can't even check my facts. I'm not even sure which podcast it was, but my best guess it is the one I posted below.
Some scientists dug up the corpses of people who died in Alaska. I guess the permafrost keeps them better preserved. They were able to determine the genetic code of the virus. There was one sequence that they were interested in and ... if I remember this right... that sequence is found in Influenza A, swine flu, and avian flu. Not sure about SARS and MERS. But the point being is that the Spanish Flu is still with us - it just has mutated and combined with other genetic material.
It no great leap of imagination to expect the same thing can happen with COVID19. The scientists are worried about how this "mink" version may affect the vaccine. They are correct to do so. Influenza A keeps mutating and we keep having to make new vaccines for it.
This mink thing reminds me of what happened with swine flu and avian flu. I think keeping thousands of animals in close quarters is an important step in creating new viruses. So it might be minks now but chickens or pigs next year.
Being that this is from a history podcast it might be worth noting here that those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it. Here is hoping we don't make the same mistakes.
along the lines of the Crazy Thought thread - The coronavirus might be the best thing that ever happened for Abolitionist Veganism. Can't hurricanes have silver linings? Although I'm not sure who to root for or what to hope for.