Is it possible to have had the virus a year ago? Dr Hilary answers your coronavirus questions
YOUR Covid-19 questions continue to flood in.
Dr Hilary – Health Editor for ITV’s Good Morning Britain – has teamed up with The Sun during the crisis to offer his expert medical advice on how best to protect ourselves during the pandemic.
⚠Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
As his expertise and logic help you to cut through the confusion, today he tells Emma Pietras why the virus is proving so deadly for some . . .
Q. A YEAR ago I was so ill I had to drag myself to the doctor. He said it was coronavirus. Would I have been the first to have got it?
A. You were diagnosed with a viral infection caused by “a” coronavirus. But that would not have been the coronavirus causing the pandemic. Just like there are different strains of influenza, there are different strains of coronaviruses.
Q. WOULD you suggest a universal vaccination for all?
A. Pandemic infection sweeps the world over a period of time but a percentage of the global population will escape exposure. They will have no immunity however, and will need the vaccine more than those who have since recovered from the natural infection.
Even if we develop reliable antibody tests, we won’t have enough to test everybody and will therefore not know who is immune and who isn’t.
For that reason, universal vaccination for everybody will be the target.
Q. WHAT advice have you got for people with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer who are awaiting organ removal?
A. You probably feel you are caught between a rock and a hard place. You need your surgery for pancreatic cancer, yet you know that many operations have had to be cancelled and that the risk of going to hospital and getting the virus outweighs the risk of staying home just now.
You are much safer if you stay at home and physically distance yourself from everyone other than the people in your household.
Q. I HAVE silent reflux and one of the symptoms is a cough. How do I tell the difference between this and the cough caused by coronavirus?
A. The characteristic cough caused by Covid-19 is dry and persistent and would be new for you. That is key. You will be familiar with your own long-standing cough so you have little to worry about.
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Q. WHY is the virus so deadly for some people and not for others?
A. We are not sure why some have no symptoms while others have only mild ones and some become critically ill. It is thought that some may be reacting more severely if they have had previous exposure to similar viruses.
Also, one of the reasons we see so many health workers become sick may be because they are exposed to a higher viral load. Genetics may play a part, too.
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