Virus 8th June 2020
After 6 months of the virus, do we know everything about it? The short answer is no. A lot of mystery remains.
It is very clear that Western countries were not prepared and they thought the virus would not have a large impact. They did not think the virus would pass around people so easily.
It is a disease of old age since people over 75 years are 10 thousand times more likely to die from it that someone aged 15 years. There is a lot of concern over care homes but actually most older people live at home. Their health is harder to manage.
In the UK, we do not have enough data about the spread of the virus because we have not been testing enough people and not often enough. Estimates are not accurate. And the tests are also not accurate.
Big problem is that many people who have the virus don’t have symptoms but they can pass it on. We do not know why this is or how many there are.
When you survive the virus, your body should become immune (cannot catch it again). We do not know how long this works. You may be immune for a few months or some years but not forever. With colds, you can keep catching the cold through the winter. It could be the same for this virus.
So 6 months on, we have a lot to learn about this virus.