DR. WALLACE: What is going on with this scary virus that the whole world seems to be worried about? I'm 16, and my parents are very concerned for our family's health. What are we doing as a country to stop this problem? My parents keep telling me to wash my hands a lot and keep my distance from other people for the next month or so.

My school is already closed down, and I feel scared and confused as to what is going on and what we can all do about it. I'm hearing from some of my friends who are taking this very seriously, but I also have other friends who keep telling me "it's no big deal." Is this something that I should focus on and take seriously, or should I just ignore it, stay home and do my homework until they send us all back to school? — Worried Teen, via email

WORRIED TEEN: Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and current president of Resolve to Save Lives, was interviewed on Sunday, March 22, 2020. Frieden stated that America has three national goals:

No. 1: Reduce the number of infections,

No. 2: Improve the outcomes in people who have infection.

No. 3: Reduce the societal and economic harms of this pandemic.

Frieden was also the New York City Heath Commissioner from 2002 to 2009, and he said that he feared there are presently over 100,000 unreported infections in New York and that it is crucial for citizens of all ages to practice social distancing and self-quarantining.

Why is social distancing so important? Because this is the very best way at this point in time for our society to "flatten the curve" of overall infection in the population. Frieden explained that it takes an average of five to six days from the date of the initial infection for a person of any age to start to get sick enough to notice something may be wrong. Then, for some people, the symptoms may be mild and go away gradually within a week or so. Others, however become very, very sick another seven days or so after noticing the first symptoms — some to the point of requiring immediate hospitalization.

The key for our society is to have everyone act as if they may have this virus even if they do not so the potential for it to spread from person to person is reduced. One of the main problems is that a person with no symptoms, or even very mild symptoms, could be infected and therefore spread the virus to another person who may have a very different reaction to this virus.

Our health care professionals are working long, hard hours to help as many people as they can, and they are putting themselves at great personal risk. We should all honor their service by respecting and adhering to the suggestions that have been outlined by our government during this time.

In the long run, we hope to create a new vaccine that can afford protection against the COVID-19 virus. This is being done at the fastest speed possible but will still take roughly 12 months to accomplish, if all goes well. This timing makes us acutely aware that we all need to be proactive to cut down on the spread of this new threat.

To learn more about this important matter, visit https://coronavirus.gov. It may save you, a loved one or a fellow citizen that you've never met. It is in everyone's best interest to take this matter seriously.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.