- Hi everybody, I'm LorieJohnson, CBN's medical reporter

here to answer yourcoronavirus email questions.

Joining me today is neurologistand best selling author,

Dr. David Perlmutter,

whose latest book is called "Brain Wash."

Welcome, Dr. Perlmutter.

- Hi Lorie, how are you doing?

- Fine, thank you.

Well, before we get tothe email questions,

I wanted to get your thoughts

on letting kids go back to school.

We've heard that they're at much less risk

for getting this disease.

- That's a great questionand, you know, certainly

having kids out of school forthis prolonged period of time

is really something to be concerned about,

but the question would be,what is their risk of infection

and also, what is their riskof bringing home that infection

to mom, dad, and the grandparents?

So we don't really know thatthere's much of a difference

in a child's risk of infection.

The thing about children is they manifest

a lot lower symptomatologyand many of them

in fact can not even have symptoms,

so we get a sense that kids

just aren't infected by coronavirus.

The reality is most ofthe science is indicating

that in fact they do.

Then the question becomes,

well then how safe are they at school?

And I think with theappropriate social distancing,

which is something they'regoing to have to learn,

it could be done appropriately,

but then the issue is what happens

when they contract this virus

and then bring it hometo other family members.

And that, I think, still is an issue

that we have to work throughbecause I think it's very real.

The idea of sending our kids to school

and then they're cominghome in the afternoon,

really, I think, has thepotential to open up people

who are at-risk to contracting COVID-19

and potentially even havinga serious consequence

from that infection.

- All right.

Well let's get to the email questions.

Janice wants to know,"Do you know if COVID-19

"can be transmitted by mosquitoes?"

- There is no evidence that COVID-19

is transmitted via arthropod vector,

or any insect for that matter.

Now we've had other experiences recently

with things like dengue and Zika virus

that were transmitted by mosquitoes.

Many of your viewers willrecall Zika, for example.

But there is no evidence this time around

that coronavirus is transmittedvia any insect vector.

- [Lorie] Judy asks, "Will staying inside

"weaken your immune system?"

- Well we know that getting outside

strengthens the immune system,

so I don't know if stayinginside is net neutral.

It really depends on whatyou do when you're inside.

You need nature exposure,

but nature exposure, oddly enough,

doesn't necessarily meanthat you have to go outside.

The research shows thateven having a houseplant

is a level of nature exposure

that is good for your immune system.

- Wow, that's so interesting.

So everybody, go buy a houseplant.

(laughs) All right, Richard wants to know

"Do you agree with optimistswho say by May 15th

"things will be 50% back to normal?"

- I'm not sure how youdefine 50% back to normal.

I think clearly thingswill never be as they were,

at least in our lifetimes.

And the idea of 50% back to normal

from a health perspective,

that is exceedinglyunlikely in a week or two.

The idea that 50% betterfrom an economic perspective

is also unlikely when it's been estimated

that around at least20% of small businesses

will close permanently,

and that's a powerfulargument against reaching 50%.

So I think it's going to last a lot longer

and I do believe wewill have a second wave.

The question is how high will that wave be

and when will it come?

And a lot of that isdependent upon how much longer

we continue the socialdistancing types of activities,

the hand washing, et cetera, as well,

that tend to limit the spread of the virus

while we reengage the economy.

- All right.

Well that's all the time we have for now.

Our thanks once againto Dr. David Perlmutter.

And if you'd like to hearmore from Dr. Perlmutter,

check out his website, DrPerlmutter.com.