In March, a study in Wuhan, China, suggested that coronavirus patients might benefit from a potent steroid called methylprednisolone.

The Lancet and The New England Journal of Medicine—among the world’s most prestigious science journals—each retracted a headlining study about COVID-19 on Thursday. The implications extend beyond those journals, though, and threaten to erode public trust in medical research at a time when it is most needed.

Reports of coronavirus victims often include pictures of intensive care units filled with intubated patients—that is, patients with breathing tubes connected to ventilators. Long used to help patients who are under anesthesia or whose breathing has failed, ventilators mechanically push air into the lungs under pressure. Like any powerful tool, they should be used wisely—and reports are starting to suggest that, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, wise use of ventilators may mean less use of them.

In early March I discussed past research showing a link between vitamin D deficiency and increased susceptibility to seasonal respiratory illnesses. While that research, published in 2017, did not address the new coronavirus, the insights about immunity likely apply to a wide range of viral illnesses, possibly including COVID-19.

Several readers have wondered about proposed treatments for the coronavirus. One asked this question: How did the experimental drug remdesivir suddenly supplant hydroxychloroquine as the most likely candidate to help COVID-19 patients? If remdesivir helps and hydroxychloroquine doesn’t, why haven’t all the studies shown that?

Early tests to detect the coronavirus were designed literally to do that: They detect the virus itself, identifying patients who harbor it. Those tests help with decisions about quarantines and treatment, but they have a key weakness. They don’t reveal whether a patient has already encountered the virus and then successfully recovered.

For a special episode of The World and Everything in It, WORLD medical correspondent Dr. Charles Horton answered questions from WORLD readers and listeners about the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s the conversation he had with host Mary Reichard, along with those questions and answers.

Regular readers will recognize your name. But tell us where you’re from and what life is like for you right now.