Dr. Galit Alter chats with host Dr. Chana Davis about why COVID-19 infections can be either deadly or invisible – and why age, health, and obesity matter so much. Dr. Alter, a leading immunologist, sheds light on how our immune response to viral infection shapes our fate.
Their conversation gets into the science behind these questions: Why do kids tend to escape COVID-19 infection with little to no symptoms? Why are older adults at such high risk of severe disease? What is the biology beneath the other key COVID-19 risk factors (e.g. obesity, hypertension, immunocompromised state)? How does COVID-19 compare to other viruses?
The conversation closes with a discussion of “boosting” the immune system and what we should all be doing to protect ourselves.
This episode is part one of a two part conversation. The second segment, on vaccine development, will be coming out later this month.
Galit Alter, PhD is a Professor of Medicine at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard where she studies the immune response to viral infections, and how to use this knowledge to improve vaccines. She is also co-Director of Harvard’s Center for AIDS Research (CFAR). Dr. Alter received her PhD in experimental medicine from McGill University.
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Get Real Health provides science-based insights so that you can make smart, healthy choices. Dr. Chana Davis (PhD, Stanford genetics) interviews leading experts who share practical, science-based advice and bust common myths and misconceptions. Show topics span food (nutrition, toxicology, weight loss), exercise, infectious diseases (microbiome, COVID-19), public health (vaccines), and mental wellbeing.
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