This episode covers the latest updates since our previous deep-dive on the novel coronavirus outbreak. We cover the latest developments — new name, new declarations, new numbers, new definitions — as well as:
- practical implications for the U.S. healthcare system given how it works today, and where we might go in the future — with a16z general partner Julie Yoo, given our vantage point in tech; and
- how the rt-PCR test works, and other updates about what the data do and don’t tell us, and whether and what terms are useful or not — with a16z bio partner Judy Savitskaya;
…in conversation with Sonal Chokshi.
Sources for this episode and/or other background links:
- latest numbers: cases in the U.S. (CDC, as of February 17, 2020); global cases (WHO situation report #25, February 14, 2020); spike in diagnosing cases as reported in China (SCMP, Scott Gottlieb)
- situation & policy statements/reports: CDC summary (as of February 14, 2020); “Annual report on global preparedness for health emergencies”, WHO (Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, 2019)
- on definitions (of pandemics, endemics), other terms, and various naming conventions: “Understanding pandemics: What they mean, what they don’t mean, and what comes next with the coronavirus”, Helen Branswell, StatNews (February 12, 2020); on disease occurrence and levels (CDC); “misinfodemic“; best practices on naming new human infectious diseases (WHO); qPCR (Keith Robison)
image: CDC test kit for COVID-19/ Wikimedia Commons
February 18, 2020