UPDATE ON SARS-COV-2 (3/19/20)
Here is a bullet point summary of today’s episode of This Week in Virology (TWiV). The purpose of this episode was to answer YOUR questions! I encourage you to listen to the whole episode yourself! The link is below. (1/n)
http://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-592/ 

Nobody is not at risk, even kids CAN get sick, their chances are just much lower and their disease is less severe. The fact that we’re not testing adequately in the US is a huge problem, because we don’t know who is infected. (2/n)

Roche has developed a test kit that is shipping out and that will ramp up testing. The antiviral remdesivir is undergoing clinical trials for COVID-19 treatment, but at the moment it is only approved for treatment under special “compassionate use” circumstances. (3/n)

Remdesivir is administered by injection, while another proposed drug, Favipiravir, is administered orally. Oral administration is obviously easier, so if Favipiravir turns out to be effective, it could be used as an outpatient treatment. (4/n)

Regarding all the various vaccine candidates: it is relatively “easy” to generate a “candidate”. However, the problem is making sure that it is safe and effective. That’s what clinical trials are all about and why it will take at least 18 months to have a vaccine. (5/n)

Regarding use of ibuprofen: the recommendation not to take ibuprofen (including by the WHO) is based on a hypothesis that has not been tested. There is currently no scientific evidence that ibuprofen is harmful in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection. (6/n)

If you are on ACE inhibitors (high blood pressure medication), DO NOT STOP TAKING THEM! (7/n)

Regarding the stability of the virus in the air for up to 3 hours: this experiment was done in a “Goldberg drum”, which is an aerosol apparatus that mimics ideal aerosol conditions. “In the real world” it is highly unlikely that the virus will stay aloft for three hours. (8/n)

Regarding surgical masks: if you’re sick and have to be out and about, wear one. If not, save them for healthcare workers. And remember, masks are NOT reusable! You‘re only supposed to use them once and then dispose of them. (9/n)

Serological tests, which monitor the existence of antibodies in a blood sample, are currently being developed. Current SARS-CoV-2 tests only detect whether a person is currently infected, but serological tests can tell if a person has been infected in the past and is immune. (10/

This would be particularly useful to determine whether it is safe for medical personnel to be around infected individuals. The elephant in the room: what happens after we relieve restrictions on social distancing? At this point, we don’t really know. (11/n)

However, 70% herd immunity is needed to end the epidemic. At the rate the virus is spreading it is likely that this will be achieved sooner rather than later. (12/n)

If you are currently pregnant you should try to limit your exposure to others. We have no data about SARS-CoV-2 and pregnancy. If you are planning a pregnancy, it might be best to wait. (13/n)

Regarding the likelihood that this virus will mutate to become more deadly: there is no reason to suspect that this will happen in this case. The mutation rate of Coronaviruses is lower than for other RNA viruses. Mutations in viruses happen due to “selection pressure”. (14/n)

A mutant is usually not “selected for” if it kills its host more quickly. The longer a host lives, the more opportunities a virus will have to replicate and infect others. Evolution 101. (End)