What Do We Know About COVID-19? – Michel Noujaim

Well, we know that it’s a corona virus. It’s one of 26 major families of viruses. It’s named for the microscopic appearance of the proteins that are stuck on the outside of the virus that resemble somewhat of a crown; hence, the name corona.

Corona viruses are very common. Upwards of 20% of all common colds are actually caused by corona virus. We know that COVID-19 is a mild disease in vast majority of people; 85% of people who contract COVID-19 have few if any symptoms at all, another 10% or so actually become ill the way you might with the flu and need to seek medical care.

We know that COVID-19 is a novel virus. When that hadn’t been previously identified by scientists but that doesn’t mean that our bodies have no idea how to respond to it as you may have been told. Although you may never have seen this exact virus before, our bodies have seen lots of viruses like it and the immune system is remarkably capable of adapting an analogy.

We know that COVID-19 has the ability to mutate or change its appearance over time. All viruses can mutate, but coronaviruses are especially good at it. The reassuring news is that most mutations end up making the virus weaker or less lethal rather than more.

This particular virus doesn’t do well when exposed to warm temperatures or to sunshine, it simply can’t survive for more than a few minutes when the temperatures are above about 70 degrees (F), and certainly not when temperatures are in the mid 80s or higher.

And finally corona viruses tend to be cyclic or seasonal in nature, meaning they have normal increases and decreases based on the weather, typically declining in the warmer months and potentially increasing in the cooler weather months, and this is why you may have heard that there could be a second wave in the fall.