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Description
Dr. Sylvie Briand, Director of Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness at the World Health Organization is joined by WHO's Multimedia Producer Christopher Black to discuss the similarities and differences between COVID-19 and the flu. Originally recorded on March 4, 2020.
The City of Cupertino would like to express thanks to World Health Organization for permission to use their video materials during the COVID-19 pandemic. More information can be found at https://who.int/covid-19
For more information regarding the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in Cupertino, please visit https://www.cupertino.org/coronavirus
B
Hello,
everyone,
my
name-
is
Christopher
black
and
welcome
to
this
Q&A
session
live
from
wo
headquarters
here
in
Geneva,
Switzerland
I'm,
so
happy
to
be
joined
today
by
one
of
our
experts
here,
dr.
Silber
billion
welcome,
Sylvia,
Bienvenue
I,
wonder
if
you
could
tell
our
audience
a
little
bit
about
yourself.
What
do
you
do
here
at
the
vigil?
Okay,.
C
B
That's
exactly
what
we're
gonna
be
talking
about
today,
because
we've
seen
a
lot
of
questions
in
social
media,
I.
Think
people
coming
to
our
web
sites
questions
coming
up
from
journalists
and
press
conferences
asking
about
the
similarities
between
this
new
coronavirus
covered
19
and
flu,
and
so
we
thought
it
would
be
a
great
time
to
talk
a
little
bit
about
the
similarities
and
the
differences
in
these
two
diseases.
And
so
thank
you
for
joining
we're
gonna
go
into
we're
gonna
unpack
these
two
issues.
B
B
C
At
first
influenza
is
due
to
a
virus,
actually
a
family
of
viruses
and
those
viruses
tend
to
circulate
in
human
population
of
temperate
climates.
So
that's
why
we
see
often
epidemic
of
influenza
during
the
winter
season
or
cold
season,
depending
where
you
live
and
it's
a
respiratory
disease.
So
it
gives
you
cough
runny,
nose,
fever,
muscle,
ache
and
and
symptoms
that
are
common
to
most
of
respiratory
disease.
Basically,
flu.
B
C
So
there
is
a
vaccine
every
year
that
is
produced,
it's
a
bit
tricky
disease
because,
as
you
know,
it's
a
family
of
viruses.
So
every
year
we
need
to
look
at
what
are
the
viruses
circulating
and
we
need
to
develop
the
vaccine
to
target
those
particular
viruses,
and
this
is
why
the
composition
of
the
vaccine
changes
every
year.
Thank.
B
C
Corner
viruses
are
viruses,
it's
also
family
of
viruses.
We
have
c'mon
coronaviruses,
four
types
that
are
also
circulating
and
sometime
at
the
same
time
as
a
flu
viruses,
and
so
they
also
give
some
kind
of
common
cold.
But
then
we
have
other
corona
viruses
that
are
a
bit
different
because
those
corner
viruses
are
most
of
the
time
originated
from
animals,
and
so
they
are
not
exactly
like
human
coronaviruses.
C
C
B
You
dr.
B
on
so,
if
you're
joining
us
a
little
bit
early,
we're
looking
at
similarities
and
differences
between
this
new
coronavirus,
kovat,
nineteen
and
flu
or
seasonal
influenza,
you
can,
if
you
have
any
questions
for
dr.
pol,
put
them
in
the
comments
section
of
whichever
platform
you're
watching
us
on
and
if
you're
watching
us
on
Twitter,
you
can
use
the
hashtag
Ashe
asked
WH
o
so
I
have
a
few
questions
for
you
myself,
dr.
play
home
is
copied
19
spread
the
same
way
as
flu,
so.
C
Kovin
19
is
a
very
new
disease,
and
so
we
are
still
investigating
all
the
way
it
can
be
spread
between
people.
But
from
the
initial
observations
we
have
seen
in
China,
it
seemed
that
flu
and
kovin
19
have
same
way
of
transmitting,
and
these
are
two
respiratory
viruses
and
so
they
transmit
when
somebody
a
cough
or
sneeze
or
speak,
and
it's
transmitted
by
small
droplets
of
humidity
that
you
have
in
your
mouth
and
it
goes
to
the
other
person.
But
these
droplets
cannot
travel
very
far.
C
So
you
need
to
be
very
close
to
people
to
get
infected.
Those
droplets
as
well
can
drop
on
some
surfaces
and
if
somebody
comes
and
touch
the
surfaces
after
you
have
spoken
or
cough,
then
this
person
touches
the
surfaces
with
the
and
and
then
the
hand
is
the
contaminated.
And
then,
if
this
person
touches
the
face
or
the
mouth
of
the
nose
with
the
contaminated
hands,
the
person
can
get
the
virus.
So.
B
C
C
We
recommend
also
when
somebody
is
showing
respiratory
symptoms,
coughing
sneezing,
to
stay
home
and
to
rest
until
they
recover,
and
if
you
see
somebody
showing
symptoms,
it's
better
to
stay
one
meter
away
so
that
you
are
not
getting
the
virus
through
two
droplets.
Also,
what
is
important
for
people
who
are
sick?
C
B
C
B
You
so
much
doctor
for
you,
so
we're
my
we're
getting
so
many
questions
from
everyone
here.
Thank
you
so
much
for
your
questions
and
your
enthusiasm
on
this.
We
will
try
to
get
to
as
many
as
we
can
in
the
time
we
have
and
I'm
from
originally
from
Canada,
so
I'm
going
to
take
the
first
question
from
Canada
from
Patricia
Compton
Verne
Alberta
is
asking,
is
copa90
known,
Lee
a
winter
virus
and
that
way
will
it
disappear
once
the
warm
weather
comes,
which
in
Alberta
is
sometime
in
July,
but
so
is
it
a
warm?
C
Is
something
we
don't
know
yet
we
really
don't
know,
because,
because
we
are
still
in
winter
in
many
places
of
the
world
where
we
have
seen
the
virus,
what
some
studies
have
been
done
on
with
uncovered
19
in
laboratory?
We
we
try
now
to
investigate
what
are
the
elements
in
the
climate,
the
humidity,
the
and
so
on.
That
can
influence
the
survival
of
the
virus,
but
we
need
to
see
what
will
happen
in
summer.
C
B
B
That's
another
similarity,
a
difference
between
the
two,
so
we
have
a
question
from
in
terms
of
that
when
we
got
to
how
to
prevent
cope
at
19
from
getting
to
country.
So
a
question
from
David
Miranda
who
was
in
asking
about
African
countries
specifically,
are
there
any
countries
that
are
safe
from
kovat
19
transmission
arriving
to
their
country.
C
Yeah,
it's
it's.
A
good
question,
really
I
hope
that
many
countries
will
be
safe
from
cough
in
nineteen
when
we
have
been
able
to
contain
the
virus
where
it
is
currently-
and
this
is
why
we
encourage
countries
to
put
in
place
strong
measures
now
so
that
it
can
stop.
We
can
stop
the
transmission
now,
but
if
it
doesn't
work,
then
the
virus
may
continue
to
travel
and
travel
to
other
places.
C
Currently,
what
we
have
seen
is
that
the
virus
has
traveled
with
travelers
but
at
the
same
time,
it's
very
hard
to
stop
all
the
travel
on
hers,
because
movement
is
part
of
life,
and
if
you
stop
movement,
then
our
lives
will
be
very
different
and-
and
we
may
suffer
a
lot
more
from
from
this
than
from
the
disease
itself.
So
currently,
what
is
really
difficult
is
to
find
the
right
balance
between
maintaining
a
normal
life
and
protecting
people,
and
we
are
looking
at
all
the
options
that
are
available
to
maintain
this
balance
right.
So.
B
C
It's
very
difficult
to
contain
influenza
for
two
reason.
The
first
reason
is
that
some
people
may,
with
influenza,
infected
with
influenza
viruses,
don't
show
symptom
and
will
transmit
the
disease,
even
if
they
don't
feel
sick,
so
they
won't
stay
at
home
because
they
are
fine
and
though
they
will
come
and
meet
with
friends
and
families
and
and
transmit
a
virus
so
very
hard
to
stop
the
virus.
In
those
conditions,
the
the
other
situation
is
as
well
that
influenza
generates
immunity
and,
and
so
those
viruses,
it's
a
big
family
of
viruses.
C
B
You
so
much
dr.
be-all,
so
we're
getting
lots
of
questions
about
travel.
This
is
really
on
people's
minds,
so
people
are
asking
really
simple
questions
like
should
I
be
traveling
now,
so
you
mentioned
this
a
little
bit
but
let's
say
I
people
do
travel.
We
have
Lola
Ramos,
saying
that
she's
just
returned
oops
she's
just
returned
from
France
to
the
United
States
and
she's
worried.
Should
she
stay
at
home?
Should
she
go
visit
people?
What
would
your
advice
to
people
be?
C
Yeah
so
currently
in
the
world
we
have
many
different
epidemics,
some
epidemic
in
times
of
size
and
intensity,
some
countries
they
have
just
four
addict
cases.
So
I
think
if
you
have
visited
those
country,
your
risk
is
extremely
low,
and
so
you
shouldn't
be
afraid
and
you
should
just
go
home
and
and
just
monitor
your
health
and
if
you
feel
bad
and
sick,
you
stay
home
and
you
seek
for
medical
advice.
C
Other
people
will
travel
to
countries
where
there
is
already
kind
of
intense
transmission
and
they
are
not
so
many
country
actually
currently
so,
and
so,
if
you
have
visited
those
countries,
then
you
may
be
a
little
bit
more
cautious
when
you
come
back,
because
you
may
be
more
attention
to
your
fever
and
check
it,
maybe
once
or
twice
a
day,
just
to
make
sure
that
you
are
still
safe
and
do
it
for
14
days,
for
example.
So.
B
In
terms
of
where
people
can
get
more
information,
W
chose
website
is
is
is
a
good
source
for
global
information.
If
it
were
specific
information,
if
you're
in
other
countries,
their
national
health
service
would
be
a
good
place
to
start
the
Ministry
of
Health
through,
for
example,
in
us,
we've
got
CDC
and
the
NHS.
Where
else
can
people
get
information
on.
C
Yeah
I
think
many
countries
now
are
not
only
providing
information
through
their
technical
agency,
and
this
is
often
a
complex
information.
I
would
say
very
detailed,
but
you
have
also
hot
lines
in
many
countries
where
you
can
call
and
get
rapid
advice,
and
you
can
check
on
many
website
I
think
now
there
is
a
lot
of
advice
and
and
and
so
I
think
there
are
plenty
of
sources.
C
B
A
B
The
better
on
that,
so
going
back
to
the
travel
in
Norway,
we
have
a
question
from
Perry,
MA
and
she's,
asking
in
terms
of
kovat
19.
How
does
the
disease
start
and
do
people
get
symptoms?
All
of
the
sickness,
all
the
symptoms?
At
the
same
times,
there's
fever
there's
card
to
breathe.
Everything
happened
the
same
time
or
is
it
do
we
is
a
different
in
each
person
in
different
different
situations.
C
B
B
C
Sorry,
your
lungs
are
infected,
so
these
are
three
symptom,
but
then
you
have
other
symptoms
like
some
in
4%
of
the
case,
people
are
vomiting,
sometimes
I
have
diarrhea,
but
these
aren't
really
uncommon
symptoms,
so
I
think
and
fatigue.
Of
course,
that
fatigue
is
really
common
to
any
viral
infections
so
and.
B
C
C
So
in
this
case,
of
course,
you
need
to
pay
attention
to
those
symptoms
and
if
you
have
any
doubt
that
you
might
have
Cove
in
19
call
your
general
practitioner
or
some
hotline
to
get
advice
on
how
to
behave
and
where
to
seek
medical
attention
and
and
I
think
and
don't
panic
or
stress,
because
most
of
the
cases
of
cough
in
19
are
mild
more
than
80
percent,
and
even
now,
with
the
large
epidemic
we
have
seen
in
China,
96%
or
more
of
the
people
will
recover
from
the
disease.
Thank.
B
You
so
much
doctor,
so
if
you're
joining
us
the
middle
of
our
show
here,
this
is
a
question-and-answer
session
with
dr.
Simeone
and
we're
coming
to
you
live
from
w
Cho
headquarters
in
Geneva.
You
can
ask
your
questions
in
the
comment
box
and
depending
on
which
platform
you're
watching
is
on
and
if
you're
on
Twitter,
it's
ask
WH.
Oh,
we
have
a
question
from
Teresa,
eeeww
and
she's
asking
what
age
groups
are
more
likely
to
be
affected
by
kovat,
19
and
I'm
gonna.
Do
that?
Is
that
also
different
for
influenza
yeah.
C
C
On
the
contrary,
for
covin
19,
we
see
very
few
children
with
the
disease,
and
most
of
the
children
are
very
mild
disease.
So
this
is
very
different
from
flu,
because
in
flu
we
see
both
end
of
the
age
of
the
life
course
affected.
The
very
young,
kids
and
the
elderly
are
often
more
affected
by
the
disease,
and
they
do
very
severe
form
of
the
disease
as
well
and
in
flew
as
well.
We
see
that
pregnant
women
are
more
at
risk
of
severe
disease
and
their
baby
as
well.
B
You
so
we
have
question
interesting
question
for
Mary
called
des
and
I'm
sure.
This
is
something
that
a
lot
of
people
are
sensing.
A
lot
of
people
are
feeling
she
says:
she's
scared
of
kovat
19.
Should
we
be
scared,
and
could
you
give
some
advice
to
Mary
to
help
her
work
through
this?
These
feelings
I.
B
C
B
You
doctor
and
we're
getting
quite
a
few
questions
about
commuting
and
public
transport
systems
here
in
Europe.
At
the
end
of
the
Working
Day
people
are
heading
home
on
the
bus,
I'm
sure
some
people
are
watching
was
online
from
trains
and
other
things.
Is
there
going
home
from
work
or
going
to
work
in
other
parts
of
the
world?
What
advice
do
you
have
for
say?
Daily
travelers
do
glory
traveling,
often
and
maybe
crab
conditions
and
sometime
in
when
in
winter
months,
yes,
I.
C
Think
when,
when
you
are
in
a
country
where
there
is
intense
transmission,
health
authorities
have
already
people
provided
guidance
on
that
and
how
to
reduce
density
of
population,
I
would
say
in
public
transport
or
in
big
gathering
events
and
so
on.
What
I
think
it's
it's?
There
are
twofold
of
this.
We
need
first
people
who
are
again
who
show
respiratory
symptom
stay
home
and,
if
possible,
do
tele
working.
C
While
you
have
symptoms,
maybe
it's
not
cough
in
nineteen,
it's
just
seasonal
flu
or
other
respiratory
disease,
but
still
it's
better
to
protect
yourself
and
the
other
to
stay
home
and
rest.
While
you
have
those
symptoms
for
the
people
who
are
obliged
to
take
public
transport
again,
wash
your
hands
repeatedly,
because
this
is
most
likely
to
happen
through
your
hands
in
even
in
this
type
of
setting
and
and
watch
your
health
and
if
you
see
symptoms
again,
stay
home
and
rest.
Thank.
A
C
C
So
they
are
a
number
of
stage
in
the
vaccine,
development
and
distribution.
That
needs
to
be
observed
to
make
sure
that
once
we
have,
this
product
is
really
a
good
product.
That
would
make
a
difference.
So
in
the
meantime,
that's
why
we
need
to
observe
precautionary
measures
that
will
still
protect
most
of
us
in
a
very
efficient
way.
B
C
B
B
B
C
So
so
this
is
a
good
question,
because
many
year
researchers
are
currently
looking
at
it
and
trying
to
understand
if
people
can
be
reinfected.
What
is
true
is
that
some
people
who
had
the
disease
testing
negative
were
discharged
from
hospital
and
few
days
later,
when
they
are
tested
again,
they
test
positive,
and
we
don't
know
if
this
is
due
to
the
test.
C
That's
because
the
test
detect
only
a
dead
viruses,
because
it's
a
specific
test
that
or
or
if
the
virus
is
still
there
and
alive
and
people
have
been
reinfected.
So
this
is
the
first
question
and
we
are
working
on
it
now.
The
second
part
of
your
question
is
that
if
I
am
infected,
will
I
develop
antibodies
so
that
I
cannot
do
the
disease.
So
again,
this
is
an
important
question
that
researchers
are
really
looking
at
it
right
now.
C
C
But
what
we
have
seen
in
in
in
in
China
and
and
Chinese
doctors,
as
I've
already
mentioned
it
is
that
if
you
lose
a
plasma
of
Convalescent
people
and
inject
it
in
people
who
are
sick,
it
seemed
that
it
helped
them
to
recover.
So
it's
very
likely
that
we
develop
antibodies
and
those
antibodies
can
protect
also
others
from
the
disease
and
probably
protect
ourself
from
getting
reinfected.
But
these
are
still
very
early
stage
of
the
discovery
and-
and
we
need
more
data
to
affirm
that
we
are
really
protected.
Thank.
B
A
B
C
Okay,
so
the
two
diseases
are
due
to
viruses:
these
are
respiratory
viruses.
They
are
transmitted
by
droplets.
When
you
speak,
you
cough
you
sneeze,
they
are
also
can
be
transmitted
by
when
you
touch
surfaces.
So
that's
why
to
protect
yourself,
you
need
to
wash
your
hands.
You
need
to
cough
in
your
elbow
sleeves
in
the
tissue
and
dispose
safely
is
a
tissue,
and
if
you
are
sick,
stay
at
home,
isolate
yourself
and
if
you
need
to
protect
better
the
other,
wear
mask
and
and
rest
and
try
to
take
it
with
a
lot
of
serenity.
C
Because,
again,
as
I
said,
80%
of
the
cases
are
mild
and
90s
more
than
96%
of
people
will
recover
from
this
disease
cough
in
nineteen
and
for
flu.
If
you
are
in
the
at-risk
group,
please
get
vaccinated
before
the
flu
season,
because
vaccine
protects
you
and
for
flu,
if
you
are
sick,
we
also
have
antiviral
treatment
that
can
treat
you.
So
there
is
a
lot
of
Hope
in
modern
medicine,
so
don't
be
too
fearful
and
and
just
let's
fight
this
disease
together.
I.
B
Think
that's
a
really
important
message.
Thank
you
so
much
dr.
baylow,
thank
you
to
everyone
who
joined
us
from
all
around
the
world.
We
we
had
so
many
questions.
We
only
got
to
a
fraction
of
them
will
try
to
answer
some
of
as
many
as
we
can
in
the
comments
boxes.
Our
experts
will
get
back
to
you
and
we're
going
to
be
doing
these
more
and
more
often
because
we
really
appreciate
people's
questions
and
we
appreciate
this
opportunity
to
communicate
with
you
all
around
the
world.
The
list
of
countries
is
so
long.
B
The
countries
that
haven't
joined
us-
it
might
be
quicker
if
you
want
to
get
more
information
on
covered
19
or
influenza.
It's
www.h
IMT.
Thank
you,
dr.
pol
for
joining
us.
Thank
you.
Everyone
all
around
the
world
for
joining
us.
We
look
forward
to
talking
to
you
again
soon
have
a
good
day
evening
morning
and
we'll
be
in
touch
soon.
Goodbye.