epidemiology

Are you still afraid of COVID-19? Perhaps it's the prospect of an escalating conflict in Ukraine that has you worried. Forget all that. The real threat to your health might be the IPA or glass of wine you had with dinner last night.

Perhaps the most important question that each of us wants to know in regard to the coronavirus pandemic is, "Will I get COVID and die?" Being able to answer that question with some specificity should help us craft smart public health policies.

How many Americans have been infected by SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus?

Public health officials and the media have been warning us that coronavirus kills not just old or immunocompromised people but young people too. While this is true, it remains relatively uncommon.

Epidemiology, the study of the spread of disease within a population, has vaulted into everyone’s awareness over the past four months.

Two independent groups have arrived at the conclusion that the COVID-19 lockdown is doing more harm than good. Specifically, the lockdown is taking more life than it's saving. How is it possible to make a determination like that?

The study comes from Taiwan, the country with the ambiguous “ownership.” The study is small, only 100 patients, but think of it as the pilot, not the definitive report – there is always something to learn.

Tyler Cowen, an economist, was discussing the differences in economic and epidemiologic models. One factor that economists frequently consider is termed elasticity.

By Norman Fenton, Queen Mary University of London;

Note: This article is republished with permission from the