Do you have questions about COVID-19? Please, don’t ask your doctor. When it comes to coronavirus, most of us have no idea what we’re talking about.

I’m a general and infectious disease paediatrician in Sydney. I’m caring for kids hospitalised with suspected or proven COVID-19, so I want to call out some colleagues contributing to the confusion.

There are two types of doctors. Those who see patients (clinicians) and those who look after the population (public health doctors). Clinicians are the doctors to see if you have COVID-19; but the vast majority of us have never managed a pandemic in our lives. In fact, the first time most of us heard of "flattening the curve" was March 2020.

Some public health doctors, however, model and manage outbreaks for a living. Many have done so for decades. These women and men advise the body of chief medical officers chaired by Professor Brendan Murphy, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee. Its recommendations are made public every time they meet and the national cabinet is bound by them.