Widespread coronavirus infection found in Iowa deer, New Study Says.

 

Emma Hulbert

Mr. Ippolito

Current Event 7

November 1, 2021

Jacobs, A. (2021, November 2). Widespread coronavirus infection found in Iowa deer, New Study Says. The New York Times. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/02/science/deer-covid-infection.html. 

 

The New York Times article “Widespread coronavirus infection found in Iowa deer, New Study Says” by Andrew Jacobs describes a study done about white-tailed deer coronavirus infections in Iowa. Although we are still unaware of a plethora of things about this topic, Jacobs does an excellent job of identifying concerning information and what we do know. It is unknown how deers contracted the virus from humans, but with “Up to 80 percent of deer sampled from April 2020 through January 2021 in the state” infected, it will be more difficult and take more time to eliminate the virus. Jacobs expressed concern for the virus becoming common in animals and evolving into a more dangerous and virulent mutation. “‘If deer can transmit the virus to humans, it’s a game changer,’ said Tony Goldberg.” 

            The coronavirus pandemic remains a prominent issue, yet we still do not know about it. For example, we do not know how it affects certain animals. Although most people are vaccinated, the pandemic is not over, and there is still so much that remains unknown. These deer getting infected has greater importance than it seems. Deers being infected opens a possibility for a more deadly mutation. People still need to be cautious because of the occurrence of spreading the virus further. Although how it is transmitted from humans to deers is unknown; people feeding deers, hunters leaving chewing tobacco in the forest, and a deer finding it are strong possibilities. People are forgetting about the pandemic and are not doing their part to help minimize the damage done. We do not know how many other animals are susceptible to the virus, so we need to be more careful when dealing with COVID-19.

            This article was very informative and covered a wide range of effects that emphasized the importance of this issue. Although the author gave statistics that supported their claim, the article had a slight problem with clarity. The article did not flow well and was not organized clearly. Aside from this, they did a fantastic job covering a confusing and vast topic. This article was great for getting a general understanding of white-tailed deers and their relation with the coronavirus. Still, I would recommend that anyone doing thorough research look into each subtopic individually because it can be confusing altogether.