Video: COVID-19 Why it Matters, Part 6: Can pandemics be stopped before they start?
This video series features UW-Green Bay’s Immunologist Brian Merkel on COVID-19 and Why it Matters. This series empowers viewers with knowledge to help them navigate through the pandemic. Merkel has a Ph.D. in Microbiology & Immunology from the Medical College of Virginia. He is an associate professor in UW-Green Bay’s Human Biology & Biology programs and has an appointment at the Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Microbiology and Immunology. He will be responding to a number of questions related to COVID19 and try to get behind the “why” it’s important to be educated in your decision-making as we navigate the pandemic together.
Video Transcript – COVID-19 Why it Matters, Part 6: Can pandemics be stopped before they start?
Hi, I’m Brian Merkel, Immunologist at UW-Green Bay, and we’re here to talk about Why COVID-19 matters to you. I think an important question is, can pandemics be stopped before they start? And the answer to that is possible but very, very difficult. The evidence indicates that COVID-19 originated from China. At the end of the day we live in a global society and what that means realizing that when disease is anywhere it can be and is always diseases can be everywhere. It really becomes a matter of where we want to apply our resources. Because it’s very difficult to stop a pandemic in terms of preventing it from ever starting. But if we invest in health care and other measures that are going to put us in the best position possible to deal with these problems when they arise the better off we’re all going to be. Particularly with respiratory diseases like COVID-19 you can be asymptomatic and spread the disease. We can circle the globe within 24 hours by jet so, these things are very, very difficult to stop. But the question becomes what are we going to do when they start? And the more we invest in good public health measures the better off we’re going to be.
COVID-19 Why it Matters:
- Video Series Introduction with Brian Merkel https://youtu.be/M-yYPSPk30Q
- Part 1: What are viruses and where did this one come from https://youtu.be/DYbiIv8ICgs
- Part 2: Two main types of viruses https://youtu.be/O-OVk3rx96s
- Part 3: Why is this virus serious? https://youtu.be/EDFyNN8i5G4
- Part 4: Why wash hands/wear mask? https://youtu.be/FlcAvlt876Y
- Part 5: I’m young! Why should I care? https://youtu.be/TDrEV_beY1U
- Part 6: Can pandemics be stopped before they start? https://youtu.be/lgWnJZNYbFI
