Attending a webinar on Covid-19 by @India_Alliance @THSTIFaridabad and @IAVI now. Hoping to understand what the on ground situation is like, the role of media in curbing the spread of misinformation and the dos and don'ts for each one of us as we grapple with a pandemic. #Corona
Hydrochloroquine has been suggested for people who are either first responders, HCPs or are very sick. You cannot just pop a pill and expect protection from the virus. There can be side effects too. People should not go overboard. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
Vaccines take many years starting from candidate identification to human trials to entering the market. It will take at least 12 to 18 months to get a viable vaccine through global efforts. It is not a breakthrough that can happen overnight. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
It is critical to not use terminology like 'deadly disease'. Fear among people can act as a deterrent as we deal with this outbreak. Click bait links are another source of misinformation and can also create unnecessary panic. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
Misinfodemic: misinformation epidemic is as much a problem as the disease epidemic. Busting myths and fact checking news, messages, videos that float around is important and every responsible individual should be doing it. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
The most reputed virologists across the world have stated that there is absolutely no evidence to prove the coronavirus is a bioweapon released by China, contrary to what people have been discussing about. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
Please believe in whatever religion you want to. Please put your faith in what you wish to. But please listen to science. 😊
Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
Biostatisticians have said that in the best case scenario, we shall have about 50k infections and 4k deaths and in the worse case, about 15lakh infections and 20k deaths.
But models are models. It's important to see how they are built. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
But models are models. It's important to see how they are built. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
Models are good to start with. But they are based on assumptions based on the data from other countries. We need more local data to make better sense of the models. We still do not have data on social mixing that would help refine this data. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
The virus affects everyone in the same way. But young people tolerate the infection better because of healthier bodies and better immune systems. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
Possibly, 8000 people in the world have some resistance to the virus. Others may develop some resistance over time if they acquire an infection. But we are all equally susceptible. It's important to focus on flattening the curve. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
Children are better in terms of recuperating from infections. The anti-bodies protect them for life. Adults can have a problem, especially with old age. Co-morbidities make it difficult to recover as fast as we'd want to. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
South Korea did not shut the country down. They tested many people to identify infected cases. Our government started with the same approach. But there were stories of people escaping, hiding travel histories. This made our task difficult. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
Shut downs and limited travel is a way of asking people to stay in place. We need a baseline once people have stayed in place for say 2 weeks. Contact tracing, tracing suspects and testing for positive cases will then be easier. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
The greatest worry is people who live in places where isolation is not possible, where people do not have clean water. It is important to think of strategies that can be put in place for such people. What instructions should we give them? Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
How to stop children from playing? How do we control contact among fishermen? How do we restrict moving around in localities? The regional media has a great role to play. We need to look at the enormity with regards to local transmission. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
We don't have genomic sequences to understand how the virus grows and mutates. It is a tough job. Local media should talk about hygeine, the actual numbers of positive cases, the importance of quarantine. Repeat it as often as possible. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
The world has put over 900 strains of the virus in public domain. India has put in 2. The virus is with the NIV and ICMR. Nobody has access to it to be able to sequence it. It's fairly easy to grow it in culture! There is reluctance to share. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
Virus transmits through cough, sneeze, sweat. Droplets are heavy and can't travel so far. They can stay on surfaces for upto 3 days. In the aerosol, virus can stay for about 30 min. It spreads through touch too. Infects the lungs and gut. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
WHO still believes the transmission is through droplets and aerosol is a very minor mode of transmission. It happens largely through cough, sneeze, saliva and sweat. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
We do have community transmission. Testing has been ramped up a bit for a week now but we are still not testing at scale so we can't understand the rate of transmission. It's still very limited and definitely needs to be expanded immediately! Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
Apart from all necessary precautions while reporting, journalists should take regular breaks & take care of their mental health. They should speak to their colleagues to not feel so overwhelmed. Journalists are humans too and need self-care. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
Herd immunity: Infection helps generate immunity against the virus. This is a new virus and we are all bound to get infected at some time. Children and adults can recover in a week and develop immunity. Then transmission is not possible. Webinar by @India_Alliance on #Corona
