COVID-19 Infos

Who is most at risk?
	- Highest death rate is in the elderly.
	- 0.1% for 30 and 40 year olds


Can you get the flu again?
	- Usually people who get the flu, the bodies develop antibodies and they recover in 2 weeks and don't get sick again.
	- For Covid, people who have been discharged are getting the virus again .

How do you get infected?
	- 3 ways to get infected:
		1. Droplet Transfer: Directly being coughed or sneezed on by someone and being with their droplets.
		2. Indirect Transfer: When patient coughs or sneezes and the droplets land on keyboards/tables/doorknobs. Virus can survive up to 3-4 days on surfaces like tables/door knobs, and 1 day for fabric/clothes.
		3. Direct Transfer: When someone coughs/sneezes on hands and you shake their hands and subsequently touch your face/mouth/eyes etc...

Can you get it just by breathing?
	- Yes, Aerosol Transmission possible in certain cases (i.e. Airborne transmissions)
	- Airborne transmission likely in densely packed areas. But, in outdoor environments and not in closed spaces, not as likely through airborne transmission.

What are the symptoms of the virus?
	- Loss in appetite, mild aches, fevers, sore throat, difficulty breathing.
	- 30% of those who get the virus can't smell or taste anything
		- Lose your sense of smell or taste

Can you get infected if it's on skin?
	- You get infected by virus going through eyes/mouth/nose because there are mucous membranes in those areas.
	- However, you can't get the virus from it just being on your skin. That's why it's important to wash your hands.

How effective is wearing mask?
	- Very effective.
	- In the west, not many people wear masks which is odd. The US Surgeon General and WHO recommend people not to wear masks, but he disagrees. Wearing mask is extremely effective.
		- They probably said that so medical ppl can have more masks and normal people stop hoarding.
	- If everyone wears masks, there will be less infections in general. WHO encourages normal people not to wear masks. But in Asia, because of cultural differences, they encourage ppl to wear masks.
		- As a result, US/Europe spreading much faster than Asia did.

If it gets warmer, will the virus go away?
	- Hard to predict, but won't go away quickly.
	- Several scenarios:
		- 1st Scenario: Covid ends like SARS did when it got warmer. SARS started in Nov 2002 and ended July 2003. But, back then people travelled less and infection was much smaller (mostly Asia + Canada only).
			- For Covid, IF the whole world cooperates, it can end by July/August 2020 and it won't infect people again. However, only 10% probability this may come true.
		- 2nd scenario: Covid stays in the summer and it'll spread to southern hemisphere when it's their winter and it'll come back again in our winter. Just like regular flu cycle.
		- 3rd scenario: we develop a vaccine and put a end to it once and for all. But this scenario is difficult to achieve.
			- Inventing a new vaccine usually takes 10-15 years and costs US$800M. Covid is not even 100 days old. Doctors have only had 2 months to understand their DNA structure so far.
			-  At fastest, IF everything goes smoothly (big if), and it'll take 18 months if all goes well to develop vaccine.
			-  However, even if US / China develops a vaccine, would they share the vaccine? Also, it'll be impossible for US with 320million population to vaccinate everyone. It becomes a choice of priority. Who gets the cure first?

What cures are being used now?
	- Best thing we can do is "drug repurposing":
		- Try to find a drug that's being used to treat another disease that can also be effective for Covid.
		- Ex. A drug that is used for Malaria was found to be somewhat effective in treating Covid and used for critical patients right now.
	- Another way:
		- Take the blood of patients who recovered and use the antibodies in the blood to give to critical patients. So recovered people should donate their bloods if they can.

Any last comments?
	- Currently, doctors working 2 months nonstop and very worn out. Their bodies are tired as a result so they can catch the virus from patients more easily. They are more vulnerable than normal people.

Last advice to people in teens, 20s, 30s?
	- You may be fine, but if you spread to an elderly family member, it could be fatal.
	- Wear mask. Socially distance. You need to protect yourself so you can protect your family.