 How do you go about avoiding becoming infected by a harmful airborne virus? There are, of course, a number of blindingly obvious ways to do this. However, because so many people seem to have forgotten them, I thought it was worth posting a quick refresher. Of course, at this point, you're probably thinking that this is a video about COVID. It isn't. COVID has become so mixed up in politics and conspiracy theories that making a video about preventing its spread would be a crazy idea. Instead, this video is about how to avoid the spread of a totally made-up virus that is absolutely not COVID. So here's the scenario. Imagine someone discovers a virus that makes you really smelly. This is not your regular bad hygiene smelliness, but an obnoxious stink that, so bad, people actually throw up or faint as they get near you. Now imagine your mission, should you choose to accept it, is not to catch this virus. But there's a catch. You can't just hide from everyone. In fact, you have to attend an event where you'll be mingling with 99 other potential stink virus carriers. What do you do? Your first step might be to find out everything you can about reducing the risks of becoming infected. Sadly, in this completely hypothetical scenario, not a lot is known about the virus. But imagine this is what we do know. First, the closer you are to someone who's infected, the more likely you are to get it. Unfortunately, we don't know the exact numbers here, but we do know that closer is bad and further away is good. Second, you can substantially reduce your chances of catching the virus if you wear a mask. We also know that if you're infected, the mask reduces the chances of you passing the virus on to others. Third, you can freely get a safe jab that protects you from the virus. It's not perfect, but it does cut your chances of smelling like a festering cesspit down by well over 90%. And fourth, you can take a simple test to see if you're potentially infectious or not. Forearmed with these facts, what are your next steps? The most obvious one is to take the test. It won't stop you becoming infected, but it will help you avoid infecting others and making their lives miserable. Of course, you could be selfish and say, there's nothing in it for me in taking the test. The trouble is, though, that if the other 99 people in the room have the same attitude, your risk of getting the virus becomes substantially higher. So this is one of those cases where it's probably better to lead by example. Next, you can avoid standing so close to others that you end up inhaling their potentially contaminated breath. Even though we don't know what a safe distance is in this case, the rule of thumb that further is better works pretty well here. You can also wear a mask. It's a pain I know, but it will significantly reduce the risk of you ending up smelling like a surfeit of hyper stressed skunks. And of course, if everyone does this, it reduces your risk even further. And finally, you could get the jab. It won't give you 100% protection, but when used alongside other measures, it's likely to reduce the risk of infection to something that's no greater than many of the other risks we face every day. Of course, you could just say that it's not your problem and do nothing. It is, at the end of the day, up to you whether you decide to be an antisocial jerk or not. But I'd like to think that most people are considerate enough to think about how their actions impact others and act accordingly. But there's more to it than this. Remember, in this hypothetical scenario, your mission is not to catch the virus. And far and away, the most effective way to do this is to do everything you can to ensure that those around you aren't carriers. And no matter how inconvenient they seem, being tested, wearing a mask, keeping a distance and getting the jab are the best ways to do this. Of course, all of this is made up. The stink virus doesn't actually exist in reality. But if you ever were faced with the challenge of mingling with others while avoiding becoming infected by a harmful virus, thought exercise might just be useful. Hypothetically speaking, of course.