Ask Dr Neil

QUESTION: What is herd immunity? ANSWER: Herd immunity develops when enough people are immune to a contagious disease either through infection or vaccination. This lowers the risk of either having or catching the disease in everyday situations. It varies with different diseases, but most experts believe that at least 70% of…

QUESTION: Should children wear masks? ANSWER: This recommendation keeps changing, but as of September 2020, all children over age 2 should wear masks outside of the home. Under age 4, child-size masks offer a better fit. For healthy children, a mask will protect a family from COVID exposure in school. When a…

QUESTION: Can the pneumonia vaccine protect me from COVID? ANSWER: Not directly. The pneumonia vaccine protects you from pneumococcal bacteria, which are responsible for about 25% of pneumonia cases in the US. COVID-affected lungs can be vulnerable to develop this type of pneumonia, so this vaccine potentially can lower the risk of…

QUESTION: Why are doctors using old drugs to treat COVID? ANSWER: It can take years to develop a new FDA-approved, an antiviral drug. Facing ICUs filled with seriously ill patients, doctors looked at already existing medications that had the potential to treat COVID. Some, like Remdesivir, have shown antiviral activity while…

QUESTION: Why do so many epidemics start in China? ANSWER: China is a volatile mix of large numbers of people in close contact with many types of animals—and the germs they carry. Chinese prefer freshly killed meats, and live markets are ground zero for human contact with animal viruses. Add this to…