Evidence Based Research Archives - Sliding Doors Podcast

How to explore Dr. Prathap’s ideas

There’s a lot to get into. So here’s what we suggest.

First, check out the 30-minute interview

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

00:00 – Introduction: What is the ‘Swedish conundrum’?

00:55 – Why did Sweden not lock down? What has their strategy been? [Refer to PDF 1 below for statistics and data]

14:20 – Why did they think this strategy would work? [Refer to PDF 2 below for statistics and data]

20:00 — Is their strategy working? [Refer to PDF 3 below for statistics and data]

27:55: Summary — the Swedish response isn’t about doing nothing. Instead, they’re making targetted decisions based on the unique characteristics of Swedish society. It’s worth keeping an eye on their success/failure, but we can’t generalize strategies from one country to another.

Then, download Dr. Prathap’s documentation

These are 3 PDFs outlining his argument in detail. You’ll find statistics, graphs, and images to back up each point he makes in the interview.

Finally, watch our earlier interview with Dr. Prathap

In [S1E5] COVID-19 (Pt 1): “Hey, Doc! Let’s Talk Facts.”, he explores how we already have the tools to solve COVID-19, because we stumbled upon them when tackling the other great pandemic — HIV/AIDS in the 80s.

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Sliding Doors Podcast

#5: COVID-19: Facts Only, Please

00:00 / 1:13:51

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

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋:

–Follow him at @susheel_c (Twitter) and susheel02 (Instagram)
–Consult with him at ColoursAlive.com

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐑𝐎𝐇𝐀𝐍:

— Consult with him at rohantharyan.com
— Follow him at rohantriesthinking (Instagram)

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Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/sliding-doors-podcast/message

How to explore Dr. Prathap’s ideas

First, check out the 30-minute interview

Then, download Dr. Prathap’s documentation

Finally, watch our earlier interview with Dr. Prathap

Connect with Susheel Chandradhas

Connect with Rohan Tharyan