Ethan
Money List Winner
Is it actually that bad though Ethan? From a completely non-medical view point the fact that one of the quotes in the article is "There is a lot of speculation, but very few clear answers" seems to suggest that they don't yet know if this is going to be bad or not. Is it possible that it is highly mutated and could be far more transmissible and evade the vaccines, so that far more people get it, but be far less deadly and only give mild symptoms to those that do get it?
Viral evolution is reasonably well studied, and it is true that the specific effects of a given virus are not easily predicted. In general, viruses don't do well if they kill people, especially fast, because they can't spread effectively, so over time many viruses weekend and even if they become more transmissible, no big deal like the mass of different viruses that cause the common cold, some of which are coronaviruses. But like the flu, now and again a real bad variety comes along, and causes a lot of deaths.
The problem with Covid (OK, that's the disease rather than the virus) is that it is still lrealtvely early in its evolution, so the slow slide into middle age being a bitter rather than a danger, is still some way off. This one is still looking for action. Most of the vaccines are directed against the Spike, the sticky out bit, but this new variant appears to be evolving in other areas too, and that could spell trouble for vaccines.
The danger scenario would be if it had a longer incubation period during which it could transmit, and vaccination provided limited protection. Then it can spread widely quietly. If it starts to circulate widely, then that drives further mutation. It is better to speculate a bit wildly (worst case scenario) and over-react than relax and under-react.