“You can call it a germ, you can call it the flu, you can call it a virus. You know, you can call it many different names. I’m not sure anybody even knows what it is.” – President Trump-

Why do some people get really sick, but others do not? Are the models too optimistic or too pessimistic? Exactly how transmissible and deadly is the virus? How many people have actually been infected? How long must social restrictions go on for? Why are so many questions still unanswered?[1]

The confusion partly arises from the pandemic's scale and pace. Worldwide, at least 3.1 million people have been infected in less than four months. Economies have nose-dived. Societies have paused. In most people's living memory, no crisis has caused so much upheaval so broadly and so quickly. "We've never faced a pandemic like this before, so we don't know what is likely to happen or what would have happened," says Zoë McLaren, a health-policy professor at the University of Maryland at Baltimore County. "That makes it even more difficult in terms of uncertainty."[2]

Frankly Speaking with Tyra G’s Moments of Mindfulness series shares the virtual table this week with Dr. Valda Crowder. Dr. “V” shares her road to emergency medicine, with stops along the way to secure degrees in engineering and business. Her unique skill set and commitment to the community and national resilience have led her to consult with and advocate for a host of diverse organizations to include NFL Player Violence, the CDC, Corizon Healthcare, provider to incarcerated inmates, the CDC, and the Congressional Black Caucus. The centerpiece of our conversation was some pandemic myth-busting.

Click below, and you will learn things.

[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/pandemic-confusing-uncertainty/610819/\

[2] https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/pandemic-confusing-uncertainty/610819/