Morgan Community College hosted an online panel with researchers from Colorado State University to share information about the COVID-19 virus with the community on Thursday morning.
More than 30 people joined the MCC webinar on Thursday, March 26, to ask questions about the virus and how it could continue to affect the population. Scientists who specialize in pathology, microbiology and immunology gave advice about how people can help stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Dr. Brady Michel, biological sciences and STEM faculty for MCC, moderated the panel and asked questions that viewers submitted through a chat box.
“This is a really important meeting. Especially now with social media, we have a lot of misinformation out there,” Michel said.
He introduced a group of scientists, including CSU researchers Dr. Mark Zabel, Dr. Danielle Adney and Dr. Anna Fagre, to lead the nearly two-hour long discussion about the virus. Zabel said he is worried that COVID-19 has the potential to establish itself as a seasonal virus.
“The way to avoid that seasonal outbreak is to identify cases as early as possible, and to self quarantine or isolate those who have been exposed or have an infection,” Zabel said.
Zabel is an expert in biology and biochemistry. He is currently the department head of graduate education at CSU, a professor and the associate director of the school’s Prion Research Center. He said the virus could reoccur for two to three “seasons,” and that people should follow isolation guidelines to help prevent its negative effects.
“We are ramping up testing, but it is not adequate,” Zabel said. “Eventually social distancing will work, but it could take some time. I do think self-isolation is our best tool right now.”
Adney said that studying animal models of viral outbreaks such as COVID-19 is important to determining their potential effects. She said she completed a Ph.D. focus on models of the MERS coronavirus, which can be helpful in determining the way a coronavirus develops.
She said those studies can show clear differences between the coronavirus and other viruses, such as HIV.
“Coronavirus is very different, where once it’s integrated into the host cell, it hijacks the host cell’s machinery in order to replicate,” Adney said.
Local resident Bruce Dietz asked the scientists a handful of questions regarding ways to mitigate damage from the coronavirus. He asked about a potential timeline for “flattening the curve” in terms of number of new cases over time.
Fagre, a veterinarian and epidemiology expert at CSU, said the timeline depends on how much social distancing is taking place. Fagre studies emerging viruses among bat populations.
She estimated that 14 days of firm social distancing could have noticeable effects on flattening the curve.
“I just think it’s so important to think about the tools we have against this virus,” Fagre said. “It emphasizes the importance of social distancing, because I think that’s the best weapon we have.”
Fagre said giving researchers enough time to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 is important before the virus reemerges seasonally or infects an unmanageable portion of the population.
“Once we get a good vaccine on the board, the hope, the prediction, is that we won’t have to be reinventing the wheel essentially,” Fagre said.
Michel said people looking for more information on the COVID-19 coronavirus should rely on government or academic sources. He recommended the CDC website’s COVID-19 tracker as a reliable source, among others.
