As early as December 2019, long before most experts had Covid-19 on their radar, Dr. Syra Madad predicted a deadly outbreak. She warned officials to prepare.
Now, as just such a pandemic sweeps the nation, she has set to work offering her expertise on how to slow the spread and protect oneself from the disease.
After appearing in Netflix’s “Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak”, Dr. Madad has spoken extensively on what measures we can take, and explaining the dynamics of this pandemic.
A long career prepped Dr. Syra Madad for Covid-19
Dr. Madad is currently the Principal Investigator of the Institute for Diseases and Disaster Management at NYC Health + Hospitals. However, her resume includes a range of impressive positions in her field. After completing her education, Dr. Madad worked at the BioThreat and Chemical Threat Teams in the Emergency Preparedness Branch at the Texas Department of State Health Services. While in Texas, she worked in the emergency response Surge Team that responded to the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak. In 2017, she was part of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Health Security’s Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Fellowship.
With this much experience under her belt, Netflix took notice. Dr. Madad participated in their original series “Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak” which was released in January of 2020. The release came mere days before the discovery of the first cases on American soil.
Hollywood sparks a passion for pandemics
“I watched the movie “Outbreak” very early on,” Dr. Madad recalls “I remember as a little girl that was like, oh my gosh this is exactly what I want to do.” Continuing to recollect her nascent interest in science, she also recalls a book about Ebola that she read in 10th grade.
However, Dr. Madad did not just choose her profession on fascination alone. She also wanted to help people. “One of the core tenants of being a Muslim is trying to help humanity in any way that we can,” she explains. “Each of us play our own special role in society…And so my drive has always been doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people.”
Dr. Syra Madad recommends measures for dealing with the pandemic
As a leader in pathogen prevention and awareness, Dr. Madad’s career consists of making sure we are ready for an emergency. “We do a lot of infection control precautions, which is basically the basic ones that we constantly do every day, but we’re reiterating the importance of basic infection control,” she told Business Insider. She strongly recommends that the layman follow the CDC recommended precautions as well.
Listen to Dr. Madad’s advice in her own words:
- Dr. Madad was featured on a Good Morning America segment regarding “cleanliness in the workplace” and Covid prevention once outside your home:
- Dr. Madad was also featured on CNN, where she emphasizes increased testing and decreased community spreading of the virus. She also talks about everyday preventative measures that everyone can take, including covering one’s cough, not interacting with sick individuals, and following local ordinances:
Watch Dr. Madad on Netflix here.
