There is a lot of misinformation being spread right now about the coronavirus (COVID-19), which has basically dominated the global news circuit for the last month. Originating from Wuhan, China, the virus has been spreading quickly and severely throughout the world, shutting down the entire country of Italy and threatening the livelihood of millions of people elsewhere. Joe Rogan is always searching for answers, using his podcast as the perfect medium to hunt them down. He invited infectious disease specialist Michael Osterholm onto his show to discuss the growing risk of COVID-19 and what the real facts are.

Osterholm says that this crisis is in its beginning stages, set to only get more serious in the coming months. “This really is acting like an influenza virus; something that transmits very, very easily through the air,” he says. “We now have data to show that you are infectious before you even get sick and, in some cades, quite highly infectious. Just breathing is all that you need to do.”

Osterholm notes that the coronavirus is much more dangerous than the common flu, estimating that it could be as much as ten to fifteen times more deadly. 

“We conservatively estimate that this could require 48 million hospitalizations, 96 million cases actually occurring, and over 480,000 deaths that can occur over the next three to seven months with this situation so this is not one to take lightly,” says the specialist. 

If you weren’t already terrified, you will be after watching this. Check out the new episode of Joe Rogan Experience below.