Big Ideas TXST interviews virologist Rodney Rohde on COVID-19

SAN MARCOS – Rodney Rohde, virologist and director of the Clinical Laboratory Science Program at Texas State University, discusses coronavirus and COVID-19 in episodes 3 and 4 of Big Ideas TXST, the monthly podcast from Texas State’s Division of University Advancement.

 Hosted by Daniel Seed, a lecturer in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, this special two-part interview examines the global pandemic that has led to cancellation of professional and college sporting events, political rallies and concerts, and introduced the phrase “social distancing” into public discourse. 

“I say this a lot: Viruses are going to virus,” Rohde said. “That’s what they do. They can’t survive outside of a host, so most viruses need a human being, an animal or even a plant. They really exist for one purpose, and that is to infect, multiply in that host and then jump to the next host. Rarely, if ever, has mankind stopped a virus.

“Can we slow it down with prevention efforts? Absolutely,” he said. “Coronavirus is brand new. The population collectively has not had a chance to react to it with an immune response. What we hope is that a year or two from now this is just another agent we’re keeping an eye on, and we may have a vaccine for it.”    

Big Ideas TXST can be found at news.txstate.edu/inside-txst/big-ideas-podcast. The podcast may also be listened to or subscribed to at:

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