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Morse: "Cleaning your fruits and vegetables with bleach
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is effective."
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Madad: That is completely false.
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We used to think that.
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Morse: "All schools should reopen
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because kids can't get COVID-19."
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We used to think that.
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But now we know it's not true.
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Hi, I'm Stephen Morse,
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professor of epidemiology.
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My name is Dr. Syra Madad,
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and I'm an infectious disease epidemiologist
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here in New York City.
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Morse: In the past, we have debunked a number of myths.
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But new myths keep coming up,
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and the same old ones keep coming back.
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So let's get to work debunking more myths today.
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Madad: "Wearing a mask doesn't do anything."
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Morse: And there are people who believe that.
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And one reason is that until recently,
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we weren't really recommending masks
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because we didn't know that they actually do a lot of good.
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There's a recent study from Hong Kong
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that was published in Nature
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that proves that even surgical masks
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can prevent infected people
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from passing on the infection to others.
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Madad: We have seen that in states
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that didn't have a mask mandate,
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once they had that mask mandate,
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over a period of time, you did see
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the number of cases go down.
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So it's important to continue to wash your hands
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and keep your distance while also wearing a mask.
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Morse: "Wearing a mask is dangerous
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because you'll get carbon dioxide poisoning."
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But it takes a lot of carbon dioxide to do it,
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and all of that actually
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goes through the mask quite readily.
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So it doesn't build up in the mask.
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And we know that even when people are wearing masks,
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their oxygen levels in the blood
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are perfectly normal if they're not sick.
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So part of it is really getting used to it,
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the way we get used to wearing a necktie, for example.
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Madad: Looking at those healthcare workers
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that do wear it for an extended period of time,
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that's a great model to show you
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that it does not cause carbon dioxide poisoning or toxicity.
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Morse: "All schools should reopen
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because kids can't get COVID-19."
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Once the schools reopen,
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we're gonna see a situation
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where there are a lot of kids together
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and the possibility of transmission becomes much greater.
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Madad: And on top of that, it's not also just the kids,
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it's also the teachers and the adults
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that are in these schools
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that are also at risk.
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And so we wanna protect everybody.
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There are countries in Asia
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that have reopened schools successfully
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and have been able to remain open.
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They started off with having low number of cases,
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and they also had contingency plans in place
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where you have smaller classroom sizes,
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children sitting further apart, wearing masks.
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You also have countries that have shown
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that they opened schools too early,
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and then they had to close down multiple times.
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And so we wanna make sure we're in a position
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that we have the upper hand
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when it comes to this virus.
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"Asymptomatic people aren't contagious."
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Morse: Asymptomatic people, people who feel
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and look perfectly well,
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are contagious to others.
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And we worry about them
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because they may not know what they're spreading.
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Madad: In fact, during the early days,
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that is when you are most infectious.
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Morse: The reality is we have to assume
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that anyone who could have it,
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indeed could have it,
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and they could pass it on to others.
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This is why we're making recommendations
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that everybody should wear a mask,
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even if they're feeling well,
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because we don't know and they themselves may not know
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that they could be infected
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and able to infect others.
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Madad: "Young, healthy people won't die from COVID-19."
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We have seen cases where you have individuals
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that have no medical condition
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still unfortunately die from COVID-19.
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Morse: It may be a very small proportion,
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but when you have a very large number of infected people,
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those numbers add up very quickly.
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Madad: We are seeing, based on certain data
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that is coming out, is that even with young people,
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if they don't have a severe case of COVID-19,
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they are at increased risk, for example,
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of strokes and other types of ailments.
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And so looking at the death rate in the young
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is a false sense of security.
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Morse: "You cannot get COVID-19 twice."
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Madad: We still don't know
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what long-term immunity looks like,
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and so in the immediate future,
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can you get reinfected with COVID-19
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in a short period of time?
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The likelihood is no.
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Individuals that have been tested positive again
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for COVID-19 likely just have residual virus
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in their body or in their bodily fluids.
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But in terms of long term,
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can you get COVID-19 a year after or two years after?
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That is something that we still don't know yet,
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and it's one of those things that time will tell.
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Morse: If you get it again, will it be less bad,
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will it be worse, will it be the same?
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We don't know.
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Madad: "You won't get the virus if you hold your breath
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when someone sneezes or coughs."
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But what we know about these virus particles
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is that they can still land on your mucus membrane
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even if you're not breathing.
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So, for example, if you're touching a high-touch surface
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and then you're touching your mucus membrane,
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you obviously are able to transmit the virus
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through that indirect means, if you will.
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Morse: So, we have alternatives.
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We have masks, we have good hand hygiene,
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and social distancing
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to make sure that you won't be in the line of fire
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when somebody coughs or sneezes.
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That's a lot safer than holding your breath.
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Madad: "Consuming disinfectants will kill the virus."
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Bleach and other types of disinfectants
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are not to be used for ingesting
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or injecting or to put on skin.
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These are corrosive chemicals.
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They can actually cause death and disability.
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Morse: Use it on your floors. Use it on your countertops.
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That's where it really does the work,
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and that's what really helps.
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"Cleaning your fruits and vegetables
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with bleach is effective."
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Madad: That is completely false.
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If you're going to be putting chemicals
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on fruit and vegetables that you are then going to ingest,
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you're putting yourself more in harm's way.
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So, washing your fruit and vegetables
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is very similar to how you were washing your fruit
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and vegetables before COVID-19 existed.
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Washing it under water and making sure
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that you're cleaning any fruit and vegetable.
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These are just basic good practices.
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'Cause it's not just COVID-19
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that obviously you wanna make sure
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that you are preventing,
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but it's also all the other microbes
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that can cause illnesses.
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"Warm weather will stop the coronavirus."
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Morse: Well, here we are at the end of July,
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and if anyone still believes that myth,
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I think we have plenty of proof.
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Madad: There's an epidemiological potential significance
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to warmer weather because people are going outside,
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but in terms of the weather itself
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and the effect on the virus,
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it has not shown to have impact.
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Morse: So, until we find something like a vaccine
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that's effective or something else
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that's going to stop it,
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this virus, given the opportunity to infect,
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will continue to infect.
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"99% of cases aren't dangerous."
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Yes, it is true that probably
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only about 1%
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of those people who get infected
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and get sick are going to die,
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but many of the others will get very sick,
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and some of the others will get so sick
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that they may be affected for life.
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Madad: Our indicator should not be the death rate,
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because you can have individuals
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that may have survived the infection of COVID-19
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but then go on to suffer a stroke
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because of the long-term effects of COVID-19.
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Morse: So a lot of these cases really are dangerous.
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Madad: "The United States has one
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of the lowest mortality rates."
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Taking the mortality at its face value
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is a huge disservice
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because it's not painting the full picture
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in terms of the whole effect
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that COVID-19 has on an individual.
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Morse: Unfortunately, when you think about
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the entire population on mortality rate,
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it's actually unbelievably high.
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We don't really want to measure this
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by the number of people
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who get saved at the last minute.
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What we wanna aim for is really a low infection rate,
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because the infection is gonna be there.
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Mortality rate proves you're just getting better
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at treating the severe cases.
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Madad: "5G technology is spreading COVID-19."
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COVID-19 is spread by respiratory droplets
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when somebody coughs, sneezes, or talks.
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5G towers and technology do not have an influence
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on your ability to get infected with COVID-19.
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Morse: The reality is the two are totally unrelated.
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You can spread computer viruses
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through technology on the internet,
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but real viruses requires human contact.
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"The media is blowing the pandemic out of proportion."
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I really wish this were true.
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And I think it depends a lot
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on which media you're listening to.
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By talking about conspiracy theories
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and "no big deal," to say that it's all a hoax,
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these things help the virus.
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The virus doesn't care.
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The reality is it's here, it's real,
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it will infect given the opportunity.
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Madad: It is science, and it is evidence,
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and it is public health that will save lives.
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It's not politicians, it's not conspiracy theories,
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it's not misinformation.
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And as we continue to learn together,
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the public-health guidance will change,
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because we wanna go with what we know to be effective
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in terms of keeping everybody safe.
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Morse: Stay safe, stay well, and...
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Madad: Stay tuned and stay informed,
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and that's very important.