On Wednesday, Texas Tribune health care reporter Edgar Walters sat down with vaccine expert Peter Hotez for a discussion on the impacts of the novel coronavirus outbreak in Texas and the process for developing a potential vaccine. The conversation was part of the Tribune’s Coronavirus in Texas virtual event series.

Here’s a look at some of Hotez’s responses to questions during the interview.

What do we know about the virus so far?

Is social distancing worth the economic impacts?

How long will it take to develop a vaccine? And what treatment options are currently available?

What can we do to protect health care workers?

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The interview was streamed on the Tribune’s website, Facebook page and Twitter, as well as by our media partner KXAN to a live audience of more than 9,000 viewers.

Hotez serves as co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and is the founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine. He has expertise in vaccine development and neglected tropical diseases and is leading several projects to develop new vaccines. More than a decade ago, Hotez and his team, in collaboration with scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, developed a potential vaccine for the viral disease known as severe acute respiratory syndrome that killed hundreds in China in the late 2000s, but the project was abandoned due to lack of funding.

This virtual event series is supported by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Community Health Choice and Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas. Media support is provided by Univision and KXAN.

Tribune events are also supported through contributions from our founding investors and members. Though donors and corporate sponsors underwrite Texas Tribune events, they play no role in determining the content, panelists or line of questioning.

Disclosure: Baylor University, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Rice University and Texas Children’s Hospital have been financial supporters of the Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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