The Virulence of the SARS Pandemic

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I don't know what their thoughts are as far as kind of doing that type of cycling. We might not have seen any of the kind of US either scientific or political leaders respond to that yet. But I think we need to, you know, think of this not as a one-centre-century event, but... What if it's a once in a decade event? We just don't know, but we need to have more of those preparations in place so that we can be more nimble to respond to these types of things when they happen and not be completely behind the curve with every step for this one.

This is a special episode of Mindscape, thrown together quickly. Many thanks to Tara Smith for joining me on short notice. Tara is an epidemiologist, and a great person to talk to about the novel coronavirus (and its associated disease, COVID-19) pandemic currently threatening the world. We talk about what viruses are, how they spread, and a lot of the science behind virology and pandemics. We also take a practical turn, talking about what measures (washing hands, social distancing, self-isolation) are useful at combating the spread of the virus, and which (wearing masks) are probably not. Then we look to the future, to ask what the endgame here is; Tara suggests that the kind of drastic measure we are currently putting up with might last a long time indeed.

Tara Smith received her Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Toledo. She is currently Professor of Epidemiology at the Kent State University College of Public Health. She has researched and written extensively about diseases such as ebola and MRSA. She is an active science communicator, and writes regular columns for SELF magazine.

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