Our Q&A with @MoNscience begins now: Your questions about #COVID19/ #coronavirus answered https://twitter.com/NatGeo/status/1248404843196112896">https://twitter.com/NatGeo/st...
Great question and great timing! This morning, we published a deep dive into coronavirus vaccine development https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/why-coronavirus-vaccine-could-take-way-longer-than-a-year/
The">https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2... @WHO lists 62 candidates, but experts say twice as many might be underway worldwide. The thing they need most: time. https://twitter.com/miphz/status/1248406175202197505?s=20">https://twitter.com/miphz/sta...
Scientists need time to make sure these candidates work (i.e., can generate a beneficial immune response).
The good news: Some COVID-19 patients are developing immunity! That& #39;s a good sign for a potential vaccine, but we need to see how long this immunity lasts for the novel strain. With cold-causing coronaviruses, immunity lasts for a year or two. https://twitter.com/TamaraD57123258/status/1248410929659707392?s=20">https://twitter.com/TamaraD57...
(Note: Homeopathic vaccines are not the same as conventional vaccines, the latter of which have a long history of success.)
Nope! We can actually use those mutations to track the outbreak& #39;s spread, especially with cases that are missed due to the lack of tests. See our story by @SarahE_Richards https://on.natgeo.com/39V9jJH ">https://on.natgeo.com/39V9jJH&q... https://twitter.com/busralcinar/status/1248407634111131648?s=20">https://twitter.com/busralcin...
"Mutations" get a bad rap. Most mutations, including the ones with viruses, are benign. Also, living things are constantly mutating without harm being caused. You& #39;re mutating. Corn is mutating.
Every now and then, a germ like a coronavirus might pick up a mutation that leads to an outbreak, but that& #39;s a rare event. Plus, pandemics are more dependent on how our societies exist (i.e., urbanization, global travel) than on random mutations.
At this moment with COVID-19, it& #39;s hard to say, though everyone should check out this story from @NinaStrochlic and @rileydchampine about how the Spanish flu progressed through American cities https://on.natgeo.com/2JWc9U0 ">https://on.natgeo.com/2JWc9U0&q... https://twitter.com/PashupatiN0th07/status/1248631021865553926?s=20">https://twitter.com/Pashupati...
If I ( @monscience) was forced to guess, I would bet that COVID-19 sticks around, either as multiple phases or as a seasonal disease.
That& #39;s based on what virologists and epidemiologists are saying about past experiences with human immunity to coronaviruses (cold-causing varieties in particular) and because COVID-19 is so contagious.
Nope, that& #39;s very wrong! Don& #39;t do that! Studies have shown coronaviruses (including the novel one) is "highly stable" at 4 degrees Celsius, the typical temperature for a refrigerator. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(20)30003-3/fulltext">https://www.thelancet.com/journals/... https://twitter.com/ureshitanoshiak/status/1248627918022029312?s=20">https://twitter.com/ureshitan...
For more on how coronavirus survives, check out these two stories by @Sarah_Gibbens

Will warming spring temperatures slow the coronavirus outbreak? https://on.natgeo.com/2VhpKdX ">https://on.natgeo.com/2VhpKdX&q...

Why soap is preferable to bleach in the fight against coronavirus https://on.natgeo.com/3b42pmE ">https://on.natgeo.com/3b42pmE&q...
Coronavirus spreads primarily through respiratory droplets, or basically anything wet that comes from our noses and mouths. That could be the secretions from a cough or sneeze (sputum) OR... https://twitter.com/MartianManish/status/1248629291849404416?s=20">https://twitter.com/MartianMa...
It could be the water vapor that we exude while breathing or talking, as explained by Nat Geo& #39;s @AmyMcKeever. People expel about 600 respiratory droplets per minute of talking. https://on.natgeo.com/3c58C1R ">https://on.natgeo.com/3c58C1R&q...
This idea has been making the rounds, based on a single study from China. But so far, the evidence is inconclusive. https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-are-people-with-blood-group-a-really-at-higher-risk-of-catching-covid-19-134181">https://theconversation.com/coronavir... https://twitter.com/agraybill2pt6/status/1248408506815770626?s=20">https://twitter.com/agraybill...
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