The CardBoard
An outside perspective: Dr. Kim Woo-Joo, Professor at Korea University - Printable Version

+- The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board)
+-- Forum: Emergency (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-11.html)
+--- Forum: Covid-19 (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-12.html)
+--- Thread: An outside perspective: Dr. Kim Woo-Joo, Professor at Korea University (/thread-19257.html)


An outside perspective: Dr. Kim Woo-Joo, Professor at Korea University - Snorlax94 - 03-28-2020

A friend of mine in Hawaii sent me this video and I thought it was a very illuminating one, and it was particularly interesting because it comes from an outside perspective.

A lot of people write about what other countries are doing better or worse, and here is an interview with a professor of infectious diseases at Korea University's College of Medicine, who was involved in that countries' responses to SARS, MERS and Ebola.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=gAk7aX5hksU

He gives his views on a very wide range of questions people have been asking, like how and when might this end, what should countries do differently, and what measures should people be taking in their daily lives.

RE: An outside perspective: Dr. Kim Woo-Ju, Professor at Korea University - thatboy - 03-29-2020

(03-28-2020, 06:59 PM)Snorlax94 Wrote:  A friend of mine in Hawaii sent me this video and I thought it was a very illuminating one, and it was particularly interesting because it comes from an outside perspective.

A lot of people write about what other countries are doing better or worse, and here is an interview with a professor of infectious diseases at Korea University's College of Medicine, who was involved in that countries' responses to SARS, MERS and Ebola.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=gAk7aX5hksU

He gives his views on a very wide range of questions people have been asking, like how and when might this end, what should countries do differently, and what measures should people be taking in their daily lives.

Thanks. I managed to watch the whole thing. I thought the segment starting around 27 minutes or so was especially interesting — though not very reassuring.

RE: An outside perspective: Dr. Kim Woo-Ju, Professor at Korea University - M T - 03-29-2020

Some things I took away from this interview:

Masks - He is certain that the wearing of masks in the  Asian countries, and in particular, S. Korea, has been a significant help in reducing infection rates.   He pointed out the problems that the European countries & the US are having.

Why are older people dying? - He says that their immune systems are not as effective.  (If that were the only reason, why don't other diseases kill off older people at the same disproportionate rate.)

(Even though that was recorded just 4 days ago, the numbers he gave for CFR for 80+ were much lower than today, and for 70+ was lower.)

RE: An outside perspective: Dr. Kim Woo-Ju, Professor at Korea University - ChicagoCard - 03-29-2020

I was surprised he considers there to be any chance this virus can be eradicated. Isn't this virus much more transmissible than the SARS of 2003?

RE: An outside perspective: Dr. Kim Woo-Ju, Professor at Korea University - Mick - 03-29-2020

(03-29-2020, 06:22 AM)ChicagoCard Wrote:  I was surprised he considers there to be any chance this virus can be eradicated. Isn't this virus much more transmissible than the SARS of 2003?

But I think he said the chances were 10% or less...

RE: An outside perspective: Dr. Kim Woo-Ju, Professor at Korea University - stupac2 - 03-29-2020

(03-29-2020, 03:18 AM)M T Wrote:  Why are older people dying? - He says that their immune systems are not as effective.  (If that were the only reason, why don't other diseases kill off older people at the same disproportionate rate.)

I would hazard a guess that it's because there are so few novel diseases, and that older peoples' increased experience with extant diseases compared to younger people helps compensate for the lower effectiveness overall. That might explain why older people usually are hit harder by most diseases, just not this much harder.

RE: An outside perspective: Dr. Kim Woo-Ju, Professor at Korea University - ChicagoCard - 04-16-2020

Here is another youtube video with the South Korean coronavirus expert, Dr. Woo-Joo Kim. Korean with subtitles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwoNP9QWr4Y

RE: An outside perspective: Dr. Kim Woo-Ju, Professor at Korea University - Snorlax94 - 04-20-2020

Thanks, ChicagoCard! Before the first video with Dr. Kim, I was unfamiliar with the site and didn’t think of checking back on it. The second video was also very helpful (especially as many of the relapsed/reinfected? patients in the news are in Korea), and they promise another followup interview in a few weeks.

I looked around their archive, and found another interesting Covid-related video — what do Koreans think of wearing masks?

It struck me because:
1) the korean government moved quickly to increase the supply of medical-grade masks, enough not just for healthcare workers, but for the entire population
2) the korean government created a program where everyone could buy 2 medical-grade masks a week for a little over a dollar each. I contrast that with the US, with not even enough ppe for healthcare professionals, and where hoarding and profiteering have made even wiping your butt a supply problem
3) i have been curious to get a glimpse at a country that has Covid under control. While the roads looked less crowded than I’d expect in a big city, people are out, people are working and having fun, restaurants and shops are open. It’s a sad reminder that the degree to which countries have to lock down is dependent on each country’s ability to test, track, trace, get enough ppe and quarantine effectively (including people following quarantine rules)

https://youtu.be/nZpKKI4MxDA

RE: An outside perspective: Dr. Kim Woo-Ju, Professor at Korea University - ChicagoCard - 05-13-2020

Another good interview with the Korean doctor on many questions about covid-19. I notice in the captions he is referred to as "Woo-Joo Kim"...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k84gE7ObuQ

RE: An outside perspective: Dr. Kim Woo-Ju, Professor at Korea University - Snorlax94 - 05-13-2020

Wow I was waiting for an update as he’d alluded to returning, and was hoping for an update on treatments and other studies but this video was great and is the best i’ve seen on the origins of Covid, on conspiracy theories and infodemics, and on what humankind needs to do to stop these pandemics in the future.