Covid-19 Info Sources Part 1

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I have been getting a huge number of questions about the virus, the pandemic, and for medical advise. So I thought I would collate them all on a blog series. I’ll post them as often as my shift would allow. If you are taking a break from social media but don’t want to miss this series then you can sign up to receive my posts via email- all free of course! Just subscribe to my blow via the “Follow” section on the right hand side of the page as you are reading it or a “Follow” button hovering somewhere on to it smartphone scree.

A little reminder before we dive into my blog series: ‘Flatten The Curve”.

I am a Doctor at the National Health Service (NHS). More specifically, I am a Surgical doctor (a role better known to the rest of the world as a Surgical resident). Before Medicine, I was in corporate biosciences. My undergrad degree (unrelated to my Medical degree, & done decades earlier) was in Microbiology (with Zoology, & Chemistry). My research Masters is in Molecular Genetics.

Therefore, I have formal training in virology, epidemiology, and public health but I am NOT a Virologist, Epidemiologist, or a Public Health expert. This is just my way of sharing stuff I found reliable & which helped me to think for myself. It is also a collection of cool science that a geek like me found irresistible even in the midst of a pandemic.

Thus, this blog series is neither medical/scientific advice nor an exhaustive source of information. 

Format of this blog series will be different to my usual long form. It’s born of the hundreds of questions I have received over the last few weeks over WhatsApp, text, email, and social media.

I would love to know what resources you found useful. Also let me know if you feel I have misinterpreted data/misunderstood information/cited the wrong source. Leave a comment on the relevant post, and we can interact.

I am a big fan of personal responsibility and collaborating to achieve our goals. This Covid-19 pandemic is no different. It should not be about brow beating, point scoring, or treating another human being with suspicion/disdain. NONE of us have the full picture in this rapidly evolving situation. So, we need to pull together. Please be courteous and respectful even if you are frightened/angry/upset/anxious.

But above all follow your respective country’s government advice. Together we can achieve almost anything.

Now let’s go!

I prefer to control the quantity, quality, & frequency of Coronavirus related data/info I am allowing into my brain. I check the below sources twice a day only- works best for me. There is plenty of other things to be getting on with too, ya know!

Sources of official information I have found to be consistently useful & reliable.

In no particular order:

• World Health Organisation (WHO)

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland the WHO is a global United Nations (UN) agency. In addition to a bunch of things, the WHO also deals with international epidemic control, and quarantine measures. It is an excellent source of guidance, but local country advice may differ. Usually due to how the virus is behaving locally, demographics and/or disease burdens of that country.

1. Youtube channel: Daily updates on Covid-19
2. Twitter feed: @WHO
3. Coronavirus specific website

(PS: if you just spent all this time thinking of Dr. Who then STOP IT! I’m looking at you, Jake!)

• Johns Hopkins

Part of the world-renowned Johns Hopkins University, and based in Baltimore USA. It’s an extraordinary resource put together by the world’s foremost experts. I cannot recommend it highly enough. See for yourself!

1. Covid-19 global map
2. Coronavirus Resource Centre
3. Newsletter: It’s a once daily, free Covid-19 newsletter sent directly to your email inbox. Especially useful if you don’t have the time to browse through reliable sources of information all the time. Or want to keep up to date without information overload. I have found to be useful and accurate. It’s the only one I subscribe to.

 

• In the U.K I found both these resources useful: NHS’ dedicated page on Covid-19. And the U.K. government’s dedicated page on Covid-19

• Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is to the US what the WHO is to the world, in a manner of speaking. Its dedicated page on this pandemic is very useful too.

–> Next post in this series: Part 2 of Info Sources is full of geeky & fun sources I have found useful. I will post as soon as I can.