[jMyles]

Selection acts on viruses far faster than on humans. And this effect is observable to the naked eye at the population level, with multiple powerful examples in living memory. The comment to which you are responding is borderline nonsense in this respect.

[tehjoker]

How on earth can selection pressure a virus that kills long after it transmits? When increased severity can sometimes improve transmission? This is 1800s transmission-virulence tradeoff hypothesis nonsense.