A good friend of ours is a pandemic specialist, ER Doc, etc. He’s going to start a YouTube channel to answer questions kind of like Ask Paul.
What questions would you ask him and want answered on the channel?
If you are exposed to the bug and don’t develop symptoms, are you immune? If you are immune, why?
This virus almost seems like a self propagating allergen more than anything else. Severe symptoms seem like severe allergic reactions.
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Are there any indications “where” the people that have tested positive might have been exposed to the virus? Were most of the cases acquired by people just going to the grocery store but otherwise staying home? Or did most of the cases travel by airplane or public transportation? Is the spike of cases in NY City potentially the result of people continuing to party? Or simply a downside of a high population density?
Studies of the virus are popping up like spring mushrooms. Some of the more interesting observations I’ve seen that need to be confirmed and/or debunked involve transmission vectors, and suggest that prolonged contact with an infected person dramatically increases the probability of transmission. Some claims in particular that stood out for me:
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The infection rates among airline pilots and flight attendants is lower that what otherwise might be expected.
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Community spread in China (where the most history and data has been accumulated) was primarily among family members - i.e. people who spend a lot of time together.
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Airborn transmission is real but not as big a factor as assumed at the outset.
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Touching a freshly-contaminated surface is one of the surest ways of transmission
As an odd twist of fate a caregiver exposed her audience at a communicable disease conference here. She had symptoms and tested positive after the conference. She assumed she got the bug while traveling or in her last country of departure. I am reasonably sure it would still be isolated to the point of origin if we did not have this well established world wide communicable disease transmission system in place.
Thanks guys. These are all great. Keep 'em coming.
Is everyone’s isolating having a positive effect (reducing) cold and flu cases?
If you had the virus and recovered from it, are you highly susceptible of catching it again? If so, would it be worse?
Is Cuomo right and 80% of us gonna get the virus. If he’s not likely right (I did not read the article, it’s too horrifying), why would someone in his position say that?
P.S. Matt Drudge (if it’s even him anymore) is the devil but I read that fricking site regardless.
Please contrast and compare the current virus with H1N1.
Why should we be acting differently now than we did then?
What holistic at home methods can be used to improve immunity?
e.g., Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, citrus, diet, supplements like structured silver, elderberry…etc
Although I am not a user I believe that Cannabis or CBD improves the immune system. Might be a good time to start visiting the local dispensary. 
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Latest research of patients in Wuhan showed that those with type A blood (approximately 40% of the population) were much more likely to have severe complications. Are American physicians incorporating this knowledge into their plans for how aggressively to treat patients?
How much data is required to make predictions and run simulations? What data is missing? How long will it take to obtain the needed data?
I asked this question last night to a Dean at a university…public health policy… he noted we won’t have the data until the end of April.
Peace
Bruce in Philly
If someone tests positive but doesn’t show symptoms, how long before they are no longer contagious?
That was a moderately small study. Did another one come out?
The study I referenced was ~2000 patients so compared to the total # infected, yes it was small. There were other problems such as no explanation for why the result was observed. I was just curious if the study provided sufficient data to affect clinical practice or if more info would be needed.
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OK, here are a few:
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N95 throwaway masks are impossible to get now. I have only a few for myself and my wife. So far we’re asymptomatic, both exercising 50 minutes 3 times a week getting up a full aerobic (and part anaerobic) workout, so we most likely don’t have the bug. When we go out to get groceries twice a week we’d like to use the masks, but with no replacements in sight, can we put the masks into a cardboard box and re-use it after 3 to 4 days (the virus ostensibly lives on cardboard for 24 hours and 3 days on plastic and stainless.) Will the time allow any active virus to degrade to dormancy so I can re-use the mask?
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the virus is spread by droplets, not aerosols, meaning the 6 feet of separation allows the droplet from a contagious person’s sneeze/cough to fall away before it hits me. With no N95 masks available and my continuous uncontrollable urge to touch my face in public, I thought a motorcycle helmet would be a possible substitute for a mask and face shield if the helmet has a winter neck dam. I could go to a store, buy groceries, go back to the car, whip out some soapy water, soap off my gloved hands, soap the exterior surface of the helmet and neck dam, and then remove the helmet, then gloves, before entering the car (think of the car as being ‘clean’ when I left it, and washing the helmet and gloves when I get back maintains the cleanliness) I tired this, but the guys at Costco freaked out at the helmet and made me take it off. Is this a reasonable contamination control isolation when no N95 masks are available?
(Note: soap is more effective than alcohol for destroying the virus, as the soap kills the lipid outer shell of the virus. So all the brou-ha-ha on the hand sanitizers is overblown as soap is WAY more effective. But that’s why you need the 20 seconds of soapiness: the time is needed to kill that lipid outer shell)
- I’m thinking of ways to make washable/reusable face masks. Would this help our strained medical teams at all?
Thanks. If you were one of the 2,000 affected, it would be significant.
Hopefully, they get this resolved sooner than later. The political bickering is sickening.