We’re more than 6 months into the Coronavirus pandemic and our understanding of the virus, it’s impact, and strategies to keep ourselves safe continue to evolve. And now, added to this mix are a range of articles and alarms about vaccine development and second waves. It’s no wonder, then, that most of us continue to be somewhat confused and cautious about how to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Interestingly, recently published research indicates that at least early on in the pandemic, those of us who are older were likely to be more knowledgeable about the virus (and therefore take more precautions) than younger cohorts. Hopefully, by now everyone is better informed, but at a minimum, those of us who are “older and wiser” should make sure to share our COVID wisdom. To find out more, click here.

Given the time that’s passed, it’s useful to take stock of recent insights from credible sources to make sure you know as much as you can about the virus, its risks, and what you can do to keep yourself safe. For a deep dive about the big picture- that is, how the virus acts and what can be done to stop it- you may want to set aside a chunk of time to listen to Dr. Britt Glaunsinger, a noted virologist from UC Berkeley, who recently sat down with Scientific American to give a detailed description of how the virus works, how our immune system responds and what the outlook is for therapeutics and vaccines. For a brief survey of such up-to-date issues as vaccine efficacy, re-infection risks, and flu and COVID interaction, sit back and watch this short video of Helen Branswell, noted infectious disease and global health reporter at STAT. And speaking of vaccines, many have concerns about side-effects and are even wondering whether to receive a vaccine once it has been demonstrated safe and becomes available. Inverse recently ran a useful piece on anticipated vaccine side-effects with responses from such noted experts as Dr. William Shaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt. While the jury is still out about which vaccine(s) currently in trial will end up being made available (and concerns continue to mount about potentially serious side-effects), the most important point may be that there must be a transparent process to alert the public to whatever side-effects are anticipated. Finally, many of us are still trying to figure out when to wear masks and what kind of masks we should be wearing. Well, Consumer Reports Chief Scientist Dr. James Dickerson has all the essentials about masks you’ll need in order to protect your loved ones and yourself. So pinch that nose bridge and read more here.

And as a reminder, early on we gave you a set of sources we believe are accurate and reliable when it comes to COVID communications. Most major mainstream media outlets continue to provide their coronavirus articles free and outside their paywalls. In addition, you may want to set up alerts to see the latest updates from these other free and authoritative experts: The NIH has an updated coronavirus homepage and resource center; Kaiser Health News has a resource center on all aspects of the coronavirus outbreak; and STAT, a reliable source on all aspects of health and medicine, also has a valuable coronavirus news and resource center.