What will the virus do next?

[Hartleyhare1206]

Apologies if this is a really stupid question - don’t laugh at me, I’m not a scientist!!

If the plan is to vaccinate everyone 50+ before we can seriously relax lockdown, but the virus is still out there and can be transmitted - even in a reduced way due to the vaccine - but in theory it can’t do too much major damage as everyone deemed at risk is protected, would it not just hit younger people harder in order to achieve its desired result? So where as the elderly and ECV were originally most at risk, this is now becoming the 50+ (more people under 65 seem more severely affected during this peak) if they are protected will it just hit everyone in their 30s/40s harder and mutate to be more
Dangerous for this age group instead?

Again; apologies if it’s a daft question - I’m asking in all seriousness and innocence as I just wonder if the younger contingent that have been considered safe enough to keep working/doing the school run/doing the shopping for elderly neighbours and relatives will ultimately become the age group in danger and we will just see more severe illness and fatalities in this age group, because the vaccine has stopped the virus having anywhere to go and no ability to cause damage in the traditionally/historically risky groups.
It strikes me that as things get relaxed the pressure will still be on this age group to work and keep services open whilst we serve the vaccinated but actually we could end up in trouble as a result?

I’m not trying to scaremonger and have no idea if my worries are actually founded, I’m just curious. Perhaps someone cleverer than me could set my mind at rest!

A virus doesn't think or plan.

The ideal would be for it to evolve to become as harmless as a cold. It thrives, we thrive, all good.

There will always be problematic viruses. They come and go with no plan or warning.

and mutate to be more Dangerous for this age group instead?
You’re imbuing the virus with a sentience it doesn’t have, a bit there.
However, there does seem that, since the new variant mutated to be more people, in younger age groups, being affected more seriously than before. This is probably due to it being much more transmissible rather than it being more dangerous, and those people just weren’t catching it before it became easier to pass on. So, yes, if everyone goes back to ‘normal’ and the virus is still around, it may be that a greater number of people in younger age groups will catch it than before. And the older age groups/vulnerable won’t catch it as they’ve been vaccinated. So it may start to skew figures to look as though it affects younger people ‘more’. And some of those might end up very unwell. That won’t necessarily mean it has mutated to be more dangerous to them, just that they’re more likely to catch it than they were before when restrictive measures were in place. That’s all an assumption of course.