The Brief: #AskReuters is a hashtag for Twitter users to share their Coronavirus questions with in hopes of receiving updates on the outbreak and professional medical responses.
DEEP DIVE
On March 25, The international news organization, Reuters is giving Twitter users the opportunity to #AskReuters questions on the current pandemic. The hashtag acts like an open forum where hundreds of people can ask Reuter’s journalists and healthcare experts lingering questions on the Coronavirus outbreak and its global effects.
The platform’s highly-esteemed journalists had a live discussion with media professionals in which Twitter users could apply #AskReuters in their Tweets to get direct responses from many healthcare employees and physicians. The hashtag is still active and people are getting their answers from other Twitter users who work in healthcare and/or are doctors currently battling the Coronavirus.
Q1: What makes the coronavirus so very contagious? #AskReuters pic.twitter.com/UbOCeMCi7F
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 25, 2020
A1: Individuals can spread #COVID-19 before they develop symptoms and can unknowingly pass the virus onto others https://t.co/CkmIzBU8PL #StayHome #StopTheSpread #AskReuters pic.twitter.com/zJfo1g7Qyh
— NFID (@NFIDvaccines) March 25, 2020
Q2: What form of testing for coronavirus is the most effective, and can it (should it) be done very broadly? #AskReuters pic.twitter.com/2UOgnFQaAn
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 25, 2020
A2. PCR tests are the main mode of testing now. Depending on local lab capacity, this can have short turnaround times, but longer if labs are overwhelmed. These tests are good at answering the question “do you currently have a #COVID19 infection?” #AskReuters
— Isaac Bogoch (@BogochIsaac) March 25, 2020
A2. part II: Serology tests are being developed and may be widely employed soon. These are great at answering the question “have you ever been infected with #COVID19?”. That is a slightly different question than above, but also an important one. #AskReuters
— Isaac Bogoch (@BogochIsaac) March 25, 2020
Q3: How far are we from finding good drugs to treat coronavirus? What role do government bodies play? #AskReuters pic.twitter.com/hHxjBtRuVJ
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 25, 2020
A3. Governments are driving drug R&D with major investments right now. Its critical they ensure the results of this research are publicly available ASAP, with affordability built into grants. #AskReuters
— Suerie Moon (@SuerieMoon) March 25, 2020
We're probably months away from finding good drugs to treat #covid-19. Even then, drugs unlikely to be fully effective. We have antivirals for flu, but must be taken 24-48 hrs w/in onset of symptoms @FDA role is to ensure safety & efficacy of drugs, ensure they work. #AskReuters
— Lawrence Gostin (@LawrenceGostin) March 25, 2020