From Levine Cancer Institute: We asked Dr. Shahid of the Levine Cancer Institute our top questions about the novel coronavirus and the disease COVID-19, and wanted to share her answers with the broad community of myeloma patients and other immunocompromised groups.

0:23 What is a virus?
1:30 What is a coronavirus? Is COVID-19 the only one?
2:39 How is the Coronavirus SARS-CoV2 transmitted from one person to the other?
4:09 What is community transmission?
4:55 Why is this virus causing a pandemic when other viruses have not?
6:17 Can you spread it when you’re not symptomatic?
6:20 What are the symptoms of COVID-19?
7:16 Is there a specific type of cough to look out for? It is allergy season.
7:39 How high of a fever should I look out for?
8:19 I have some of these symptoms and think I might have it. What should I do next?
9:45 I’m a cancer patient. Should I reach out to my primary care provider or my oncologist before treatment for COVID-19?
10:45 What percentage of people with COVID-19 develop mild or severe symptoms?
11:37 Can you have the virus but get tested too early for it to show on the test?
12:53 What is the mortality rate of COVID-19?
13:53 Does testing affect the mortality rate?
14:29 What are ways I can decrease my exposure to the COVID-19-causing virus?
16:41 Should I wear a mask if I need to go out?
17:26 Do I need to sanitize my groceries?
18:41 Should I get food and medicine delivered?
19:34 Does gargling with antiseptic help? Do zinc losanges have any benefit?
20:14 If you’re immunocompromised and someone in your family needs to go to work, what precuations can you take to stop the virus from coming inside the house?
21:41 What is viral load, and how does it affect your level of risk?
23:02 Is it safe to order takeout food?
23:43 Is there any way I can boost my immune system to fight this virus?
24:46 Can N95 masks be disinfected and reused if they are heated?
25:29 Can you get COVID-19 twice? Does it mutate like the flu?
26:52 What are some of the potential treatments being studied for COVID-19 patients? (e.g. hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin)
28:20 What is convalescent plasma, or convalescent serum?
29:41 Is Tocilizumab a potential treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients?
31:42 Is Remdesivir a potential treatment for COVID-19?
32:57 If I’m a cancer patient with severe COVID-19, should I go to a research center hospital for better access to potential treatments?
33:51 What over-the-counter medications should I have stocked in case I get a mild case of COVID-19?
34:53 If COVID-19 is seasonal and it leaves in the summer and comes back in the fall/winter, will we have a cure by then?
35:15 When will things get back to normal? Or... the “new normal?”
35:46 What other considerations should we keep in mind?