Curiosity Daily Podcast: COVID-19 Myths and FAQs with Dr. Amesh Adalja, Epidemiologist

Epidemiologist Amesh Adalja answers frequently asked questions about COVID-19 in this special bonus episode. Dr. Adalja is a Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, and will help you understand what we know and what we don’t know as of this week.

March 18, 2020

Episode Show Notes:

In this episode, Dr. Amesh Amalja answers these frequently asked questions about COVID-19:

  • What do we know for sure in terms of transmissibility, symptoms, severity of symptoms, mortality rate, incubation period — or is our understanding about everything evolving?
  • What do we know about risk factors for specific comorbidities?
  • Why comparisons to the seasonal flu are fair to make?
  • If the virus isn’t as risky to children, then why are we closing schools?
  • What is going to be accomplished by discouraging or limiting large groups of people getting together?
  • Are you at a higher risk for more severe symptoms if you have had exposures to multiple different people who are carrying the virus?
  • Why don’t we just expose young and healthy people to the virus to build up immunity?
  • How much safer are we if everyone practices hand hygiene and social distancing?
  • Any other coronavirus myths worth discussing?
  • How long will it take for us to see the full impact of the pandemic and how will we reassess the extent of the damage in the future?
  • Will this virus die off in the summer?
  • What are the best medical sources to follow for coronavirus updates?

Additional resources recommended by Dr. Amesh Adalja, an expert in emergency medicine and infectious diseases such as coronavirus disease 2019:

Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing

Next Up

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Dr. Amesh Adalja Explains Social Distancing for COVID-19, Birds Won’t Spread Fake News, and Using Auroras to Find Exoplanets

Dr. Amesh Adalja, Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, explains how today’s unprecedented closures can help save lives from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Plus: learn how birds avoid spreading fake news and how astronomers are using auroras to find distant exoplanets.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Introducing If/Then

What gets you curious? Virtual experiences, celestial bodies, water worlds or maybe just the tiniest mysteries inside your brain? The endlessly curious and curiously funny, Gillian Jacobs (Community, Netflix's LOVE) and Diona Reasonover (NCIS), step off set to go on tangents with real-life astronauts, astrophysicists, science artists, mathematician-types and other really smart people that investigate what seems impossible.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: The Curiosity Podcast Wraps Up with Yoga, Volcanoes, and Meditation

Learn from some of our favorite expert guests about yoga, volcanoes, meditation, and more on this special episode of the Curiosity Podcast. You'll hear from accomplished authors and academics from past episodes, in addition to a special guest you've never heard before on the show. Plus, hear about the past, present, and future of the Curiosity Podcast.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Do Opposites Really Attract?

Learn about why opposites don’t really attract; the “propinquity effect” and how physical distance affects the way we feel about other people; and the history of when and why we started using last names.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Are Facial Expressions Universal?

Learn about common ancestors shared by every human; evolution’s multiple directions; and universal facial expressions.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Does ESP Exist?

Learn about ESP; why people panicked about electricity in the 1800s; and how embryos use sound to prepare for the world.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: How to Talk to Strangers, Red Dead Redemption 2 Naturalists, July Curiosity Challenge

Learn how to get better at talking to strangers; and how Red Dead Redemption 2 turns gamers into naturalists. Trivia too!

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why April Fool’s Day Exists

Learn about what the “frenemy effect” can teach us about bullying; the surprising ability of marmosets to eavesdrop on each others’ conversations; and why April Fool’s Day may have originated from an out-of-date calendar.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Multitasking Keeps You Snacking

Learn about how rats might not have been all to blame for the bubonic plagues and why we’re more prone to mindlessly eat while we multitask.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Insecure People Use More Jargon

Learn about how naked mole-rats invade neighboring colonies and steal babies, the average person is hiding 13 secrets, and people use more jargon when they're insecure about their status.