Separating the Facts From the Misinformation About COVID-19
- Why are people freaking out about COVID-19 more than flu? R0 (reproductive factor) for COVID 19 is estimated at 2-4, R0 for seasonal influenza is 1.3
- Why should I even care if I get it? It doesn’t seem that lethal. It’s true that for healthy people under age 50, it’s not especially lethal — the mortality rate is quite low
- If I’m likely to get it, why not just get on with my daily routines if it doesn’t seem that dangerous? A slower spread will save many lives, because an overwhelmed health care system will not be able to provide care to all who need it.
- Aren’t other diseases like SARS, MERS, or H1N1 more lethal? So why freak out about this one? The issue isn’t the lethality of COVID-19 as much as the overall impact of the outbreak.
- How should I protect myself? Your best defense is frequent hand-washing with soap and water and not touching your face, nose, eyes, and other mucous organs.