Covid-19 Updates

Covid-19 Updates Archive

Is it safe or advisable to donate blood at this time? What precautions should I take? 

I’m fully vaccinated and excited to start checking items off my pandemic wish list! So…what am I allowed to do?

Mutations: Cool when they’re the X-men. Not so cool when they change amino acids within the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing COVID-19 variants. And how dangerous are the variants anyway? Are we talking Magneto level dangerous, or are they more like Mastermind?

Your daughter just called to invite you to a holiday get-together. She says it’s safe because everyone who will be there has already had COVID-19. Should you bring a cheeseball or take a rain check?

Nana worked so hard on these crocheted mittens! Do I need to boil them to keep the COVID-19 particles away? And just how dangerous are contaminated surfaces?

Your mom just called. Aunt Martha insists on hosting Turkey day this year. She says it’ll be safe — everyone just needs to get a COVID-19 test before the feast. So, as long as everybody has a negative test it’s fine, right? The biggest danger is Uncle Walt’s deep-fried turkey exploding… right?

Isn’t romance wonderful? Long walks on the beach, dining al fresco by candlelight, having no idea what the bottom half of your date’s face looks like… Wondering how you can take your budding relationship indoors while minimizing your COVID-19 risk? It might be time to propose a romantic bubble.

If you grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons, getting exposed to COVID-19 may evoke the image of a bedraggled coyote lighting the fuse of a ginormous rocket on the edge of a cliff. How long until it goes kaboom and you start infecting everyone around you?

So many masks, so many features, so many different fabrics! What does MIT Medical recommend?

My mask protects you; your mask protects me. But does my mask protect me too?

MIT Medical answers your questions about COVID-19.  Today’s topic? Sh*t happens. But when it happens in a public restroom, does it increase the risk for transmission of the virus?

MIT Medical answers your COVID-19 questions: Soap? Vinegar? Boiling water? What’s the best way to clean fruits and veggies in the age of COVID-19?

May 28: MIT Medical answers your COVID-19 questions. Should I hold my breath when I walk past someone?  Got a question about COVID-19? Send it to us at CovidQ@mit.edu, and we’ll do our best to provide an answer.

May 20: How long is someone contagious before they start showing symptoms? And what does that mean for contact tracing?

May 11: MIT Medical answers your COVID-19 questions. How easy is it to pick up the virus from a contaminated surface, like a recently delivered bag of groceries?

April 23: You know the drill: Soap, water, and a couple of verses of “Happy Birthday.” Experts keep telling us that hand washing is a powerful weapon against bacteria and viruses, including COVID-19. What’s the science behind the constant call to “wash your hands”?

April 14: A tiger at the Bronx Zoo got sick with COVID-19. Should I worry about my elderly housecat?

April 8: Could I get COVID-19 from eating take-out food that had somehow become contaminated by airborne viral particles?  

April 3: Should my house-cleaners be wearing masks and gloves? Should they be coming at all?

Most of us are now wearing face coverings in public places. But what about gloves? Will donning a pair of disposable gloves before going out in public reduce your risk of infection?