Legally CAGS awarded grades from 2020 and TAGs from 2021 will count the same as those taken under normal exam conditions.
The universities will have to treat them equally as they can’t dismiss entire year groups. For this year there are some universities that place more relevance on achieved grades over predicted grades (and always have done). They make no mention of achieved under exam conditions being a further point in the sand as they aren’t allowed to.
In the future employers probably won’t go beyond the grades that are there - what else can they do? I’m sure there will be sniping in the media and, quite probably, on forums like this.
For years the media blurts on about grade inflation making the exams less comparable with the old exams. Last year and presumably this too will just lead to a frenzy of headline hype but will die down afterwards.
When the pandemic is eventually contained we will get back to news stories of kids jumping in the air (without masks or a distance set apart) and Jeremy Clarkson tweeting about his crappy A Level grades and his fleet of Ferraris etc.
So if tell your friend to quit worrying about something beyond her control and trust that a whole two year groups won’t be mistreated as a result of COVID-19. Someone has to get the university places and those future jobs.