Virus variants likely evolved inside people with weak immune systems

New York Times reporting: The coronavirus must have infected someone with a weak immune system, allowing it to adapt and evolve for months into far more contagious variants, experts hypothesize. If true, the idea has implications for vaccination programs, particularly in countries that have not yet begun to immunize their populations, especially those with diabetes and other health conditions. People with compromised immune systems — such as cancer patients — should be among the first to be vaccinated, said a virus expert. The faster that group is protected, the lower the risk that their bodies turn into incubators for the world’s next supercharged mutant.