Skip to main content

Test Your Knowledge of COVID-19

Many of us have sought distractions from the rising fears and frustrations of the pandemic. Why do you think it’s nearly impossible to buy a jigsaw puzzle now?  They are all on back order as the supply cannot meet the demand.  Board games are also more popular than ever.  Even I've competed in a few rounds of Boggle.  And binge-watching various television series has become a welcome oasis from the surrounding chaos.


Jigsaw Puzzles - Endangered Species


As a medical professional and an ordinary person, I am well aware of the health and economic horrors that the virus has wrought.  Yes, the upcoming vaccines represent a monumental scientific triumph, but there will be many dark months before they are widely available.

In this posting, permit me to offer readers a lighter look at COVID-19 to provide a few minutes of deserved distraction.

Here’s a COVID-19 quiz to test how current and accurate your knowledge is.

 

True or False

Anthony Fauci, MD is obsessed with masks.  He really needs to lighten up.

Deborah Birx’s scarves are soaked in bleach to repel coronavirus which is how she has escaped infection..

Donald Trump, a true statesman, attacked the pandemic without any political considerations.

Scientists predict a decline in viral infections in northern U.S. states in the next 2 months as the snowbird virus hates the cold.

Just like the ‘flu shot’, it is possible that the upcoming vaccines can actually cause COVID-19.

 

Choose the BEST answer.

Which of the following is the most effective method for avoiding coronavirus infection?


Using Lysol as a food additive.

Avoiding Chinese food.

Wearing a mask that fits snugly over your mouth and nostrils.

Joining an aerobics class since the vigorous kinetic activity will shake off any virus that lands on you.

Leaving the bar by 10:00 sharp which is an hour before the virus awakens.

 

 Our best hope for defeating this virus is:


President Trump reversing the election and continuing his leadership for another 4 years.

Having bleach brownies with a Clorox chaser every evening. 

Prohibiting masks which many people say might be making the pandemic worse.

President-elect Joe Biden.

Having friends and family from near and far come together during the upcoming holidays. The virus will respect our resolve and then fade away.

I hope that you performed well on this academic challenge.  Want some extra credit?  Wear a mask and keep a proper distance between you and others and I’m prepared to raise your score by a full letter grade. 

 

 

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

When Should Doctors Retire?

I am asked with some regularity whether I am aiming to retire in the near term.  Years ago, I never received such inquiries.  Why now?   Might it be because my coiffure and goatee – although finely-manicured – has long entered the gray area?  Could it be because many other even younger physicians have given up their stethoscopes for lives of leisure? (Hopefully, my inquiring patients are not suspecting me of professional performance lapses!) Interestingly, a nurse in my office recently approached me and asked me sotto voce that she heard I was retiring.    “Interesting,” I remarked.   Since I was unaware of this retirement news, I asked her when would be my last day at work.   I have no idea where this erroneous rumor originated from.   I requested that my nurse-friend contact her flawed intel source and set him or her straight.   Retirement might seem tempting to me as I have so many other interests.   Indeed, reading and ...

The VIP Syndrome Threatens Doctors' Health

Over the years, I have treated various medical professionals from physicians to nurses to veterinarians to optometrists and to occasional medical residents in training. Are these folks different from other patients?  Are there specific challenges treating folks who have a deep knowledge of the medical profession?   Are their unique risks to be wary of when the patient is a medical professional? First, it’s still a running joke in the profession that if a medical student develops an ordinary symptom, then he worries that he has a horrible disease.  This is because the student’s experience in the hospital and the required reading are predominantly devoted to serious illnesses.  So, if the student develops some constipation, for example, he may fear that he has a bowel blockage, similar to one of his patients on the ward.. More experienced medical professionals may also bring above average anxiety to the office visit.  Physicians, after all, are members of...

Electronic Medical Records vs Physicians: Not a Fair Fight!

Each work day, I enter the chamber of horrors also known as the electronic medical record (EMR).  I’ve endured several versions of this torture over the years, monstrosities that were designed more to appeal to the needs of billers and coders than physicians. Make sense? I will admit that my current EMR, called Epic, is more physician-friendly than prior competitors, but it remains a formidable adversary.  And it’s not a fair fight.  You might be a great chess player, but odds are that you will not vanquish a computer adversary armed with artificial intelligence. I have a competitive advantage over many other physician contestants in the battle of Man vs Machine.   I can type well and can do so while maintaining eye contact with the patient.   You must think I am a magician or a savant.   While this may be true, the birth of my advanced digital skills started decades ago.   (As an aside, digital competence is essential for gastroenterologists.) Durin...