On December 30, 2019, an ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital in the Hubei province of China messaged his fellow
physicians, alerting them to the appearance of a concerning cluster of pneumonia cases. Thirty-nine days later,
after becoming infected with the very virus he tried to warn his colleagues about, Dr. Li Wenliang was dead at
thirty-three. By that time, the disease had already spread to dozens of countries.

Coronavirus

Before the SARS outbreak in 2002, only two coronaviruses were known to cause disease in humans, but neither caused
much more than the common cold. The SARS coronavirus, however, went on to kill about one in ten people it infected.
A 10 percent mortality rate. A decade later, in 2012, MERS, another deadly coronavirus, emerged. Like SARS, MERS
spread to infect thousands of people across dozens of countries, but that time, one in three died. More than a 30
percent mortality rate. Today, we’re fighting to protect ourselves from—and to defeat—the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Where are these emerging infectious diseases emerging from?

All human viral infections are believed to originate in animals. Many of the first cases of the SARS coronavirus,
caused by SARS-CoV, were found in the same kind of place most of the first cases of our current pandemic of the
COVID-19 coronavirus, caused by SARS-CoV-2, have been found: live animal “wet” markets in China.

To understand COVID-19 and other deadly viral outbreaks, we have to understand their history and evolution if we’ll
ever have a chance at preventing future pandemics. We also have to look back and take lessons from the past. How
did we successfully beat back SARS? Why is it more difficult with COVID-19? What do we have to do to slow the
pandemic today before we even have a hope at a vaccine?

I cover all of that—from origin stories of past killer pandemics to what we should be doing today to stay safe—and
then dive into the clinical side of COVID-19 and discuss what the disease looks like and the best way to treat it.
Our videos on COVID-19 are now available to watch
here

Update on the vaccines: The approved COVID-19 vaccines appear to be both safe and effective. Dr. Greger has gotten
his vaccine! Here is a good explanation of how these vaccines work: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html.

Takeaways from My Webinar on COVID-19


Pandemics: History & Prevention

How to treat the cause by preventing the emergence of pandemic viruses in the first place (a video I
recorded more than a decade ago when I was Public Health Director at the HSUS in Washington DC)





COVID-19 Symptoms


DIY Hand Sanitizer

Click to view and download a copy of our DIY hand sanitizer recipe. Available in imperial and metric versions.

 

Additional Information & Resources

We also recommend going to these resources to find more information:

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NutritionFacts.org
Spanish
Spanish
Coronavirus
How to Survive a Pandemic
The Best Diet for COVID and Long-COVID
Where Do Deadly Coronaviruses Like MERS-CoV Come From?
The SARS Coronavirus and Wet Markets
Where Did the COVID-19 Coronavirus Come From?
The Last Coronavirus Pandemic May Have Been Caused by Livestock
R0 and Incubation Periods: How Other Coronavirus Outbreaks Were Stopped
Social Distancing, Lockdowns, & Testing: How to Slow the COVID-19 Pandemic
COVID-19 Symptoms vs. the Flu, a Cold, or Allergies
Modifiable Risk Factors and Comorbidities for Severe COVID-19 Infection
The Immune System and COVID-19 Treatment
Would Zinc Lozenges Help with COVID-19?
How to Avoid COVID-19
Hand Washing & Sanitizing to Inactivate COVID-19 Coronavirus
What to Do if You Come Down with COVID-19
The Best Mask or DIY Face Covering for COVID-19
How COVID-19 Ends: Vaccination, Mutations, and Herd Immunity
The COVID-19 Pandemic May Just Be a Dress Rehearsal
How to Prevent the Next Pandemic
On taking ibuprofen
Lifestyle Medicine Approach to COVID-19
DIY Hand Sanitizer
Greatest Threats
On epidemics throughout history
Factory Farming
Influenza
On food choices
Pangolin theory
Pigs not pangolins
Treat the cause
Pre-existing conditions
Misleading information
Cross-contamination
Mutation
Chickens
Reform
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