Posts from Those Nerdy Girls

All the posts from our Those Nerdy Girls Facebook page dating back to May 1st, 2020, are currently archived here and can be searched for by category, key words, etc. Be sure to check back often as additional posts are being added each day.

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Vaccines and the Immune System

Vaccines Videos

Q: How does a vaccine work? What viruses are particularly difficult to design a vaccine for? A: Thank you for this GREAT question from an awesome 6-year old follower. A vaccine takes a dead or very weak virus and introduces it to the body to trick your immune system into building an immune response that Read more…

Will the 6 feet/2 meter rule keep me safe indoors?

Infection and Spread Socializing Staying Safe

A: Not by itself. Important additional considerations include: • Ventilation • Number of people in the room • Duration of contact • Type of activity (silent, speaking, shouting/singing) • Use of masks Why are these additional precautions needed? Don’t airborne droplets fall to the ground within this distance? The history of the 6ft/2m distancing rule Read more…

I’d like to be a “guinea pig” for a COVID-19 vaccine Phase 3 clinical trial. Can I volunteer to do that?

Vaccines

A: You sure can! In the United States, the COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN) Volunteer Screening Registry is open and accepting volunteers for Phase 3 clinical trials (link below). You’ll answer about 25 questions (it took this Nerdy Girl fewer than 10 minutes to complete the screening survey) and then your information will be available to Read more…

I hear there has been a confirmed case of SARS-CoV-2 re-infection in Hong Kong?! How worried should I be?

Biology/Immunity Infection and Spread

A: Not very. In the words of immunologist Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, “This is no cause for alarm – this is a textbook example of how immunity should work.” What do we know? In a press release yesterday, researchers described the first confirmed case of re-infection in a 33-year old Hong Kong man returning from Spain. Read more…

How do I know how much community transmission there is in my community? I am swimming in data! Someone throw me a rope!

Data and Metrics Data Literacy Infection and Spread

A: We recommend checking this awesome data exploration tool from Harvard University’s Global Health Institute. We’ve talked a lot here at Dear Pandemic about how important community spread of COVID is, and how it’s necessary for anything like safe reopening in any setting–from first grades to zoos. The map at the top of the Path Read more…

Will staying isolated weaken our immune systems since we are not being exposed to other viruses like the common cold?

Biology/Immunity Families/Kids Staying Safe

A: Thank you for this great question from a follower. The immune system gets stronger by learning to differentiate between friendly microbes and unfriendly microbes. Friendly microbes are present in our daily environment in the dirt and in our homes. Bad microbes include viruses such as the common cold that can make us very sick. Read more…