The COVID threat is both new and old. The coronavirus and the way it infects is novel, but we’ve seen pandemics before. So, what have we learned from them? And can we distill those lessons into actionable solutions for the COVID challenge? Dr Prathap Tharyan (Adjunct Professor, Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Christian Medical College, Vellore) talks to us about his experiences dealing with the AIDS pandemic in the 80s and the striking parallels to what COVID is doing to us. He discusses the data, the facts, and then his reflections on what we as a community can do — not just to survive, but to thrive.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE:
— How Prathap got involved with the AIDS pandemic (03:28)
— Tackling AIDS in the Northeast — heroin kingpins & shampoo-sachet syringes (07:10)
— Parallels between AIDS & COVID-19 — The origins, no treatment, global panic, stigmatization, faulty testing, and more (13:08)
— How Prathap knew COVID would be a big deal — analyzing the data from China (22:14)
— Question: Mainly older people die, so is it okay for young people to go out? (29:48)
–Question: Is COVID here to stay? Is it something we have to just live with? (33:44)
— Lessons we can learn from other countries (38:05)
— Why a lockdown alone isn’t enough (45:32)
— What is a ‘social vaccine’? (48:33)
— How to tackle the psychological impact of social isolation (56:13)
— There is hope … if we do one crucial thing (1:07:56)
LINKS MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE
— Will wearing face masks help stop the spread of COVID? https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1435
— The concept of a “social vaccine”: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/a-shot-of-hope-with-a-game-changing-vaccine/article31383184.ece
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