"This is perhaps the most comprehensive book dedicated to the uprising of COVID-19 and the world's future after it fades. There is nothing that a reader will not find or will not understand." Joel's books ______________________________________________________________In these uncertain times engulfed by clouds of doubts, suspicion, panic, lack of scientific and logical thinking, and inability to plan even for the near future, I have opted to decipher some haunting mysteries, de-obscure the overall foggy situation, and disengage the alleged conflict between science and quackery.Although we are still in the "crawling" stage to come at grips with the virus, we have a thousand-year repertoire of common sense, hundreds of years of development in preserving public health, and decades of evidence-based medicine.This book simplifies scientific terminology for the non-specialist reader. It succinctly focuses on straightforward practical information: no profuse introductions, no enigmatic theories, and no boring details that may repel you, unnecessarily prolong the book, or restrict the required diversity to review all aspects of dealing with the pandemic in everyday life.In terms of references and sources, I often refer to verified and credible general media sources rather than specialized references. This is to facilitate cross-reference by the reader and go through the same language and terms the general public understand.As healthcare professionals, we are both debtors and creditors. We owe it to all humankind to guide them in terms of awareness, education, care, treatment, and scientific research during this dreaded pandemic. However, they also owe us to listen to what we say, read what we write, and trust us. They should not surrender their ears, eyes, and minds to the mongers of deceit, addicts to conspiracy theories, idiots of limited intelligence, and advocates of political and commercial agendas that run counter to professionalism, knowledge, honesty, and credibility.___________________________________________________________"Unlike other books that focus more on technical language, this one by Dr. Yasser Negm simplifies all technical and scientific terms, which is appealing to a non-specialist reader. The book focuses on facts, practical information, and simple science.The Egyptian-British author as a researcher and physician decodes some lingering mysteries, clears the vague status of the pandemic, and unlocks the apparent conflict between science and deception. The book starts from Spanish flu memories and then proceeds to COVID-19 as the return of the avenger.It then focuses on the march of the novel virus, the different ways to prevent the infection and how effective they are, the different diagnosis mechanisms available and their efficiency, delayed vaccination, the second wave, herd immunity, impact on the society and the government, and the post-COVID era.Interestingly, these details are presented in a scientific way, meaning they are backed by proper research sources. There is also a special section for kids and masks, each having the details presented in the FAQs format." Joel's books

This book presents a comprehensive account of the COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the novel coronavirus pandemic, as it happened. This volume examines the first responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, the contexts of earlier epidemics and the epidemiological basics of infectious diseases. Further, it discusses patterns in the spread of the disease; the management and containment of infections at the personal, national, and global level; effects on trade and commerce; the social and psychological impact on people; the disruption and postponement of international events; the role of various international organizations like the WHO in the search for solutions; and the race for a vaccine or a cure. Based on new data and latest developments, the second edition of this volume explores the global spread of COVID-19 since 2019 and examines the emergence of the evolving coronavirus variants (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron). Further, it extensively discusses what we have since discovered on the disease, along with recent progress on treatments and vaccines. Authored by a medical professional and an economist working on the frontlines, this book gives a nuanced, verified and fact-checked analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic and its global response. A one-stop resource on the COVID-19 outbreak, it is indispensable for every reader and a holistic work for scholars and researchers of medical sociology, public health, political economy, public policy and governance, sociology of health and medicine, and paramedical and medical practitioners. It will also be a great resource for policymakers, government departments and civil society organizations working in the area.

"MacKenzie's fascinating book gives us the scope and scale to be able to put this pandemic in perspective and, it begs the question, will we learn from this in time to prevent to next one?" —Molly Caldwell Crosby, Bestselling author of The American Plague In a gripping, accessible narrative, a veteran science journalist lays out the shocking story of how the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic happened and how to make sure this never happens again Over the last 30 years of epidemics and pandemics, we learned nearly every lesson needed to stop this coronavirus outbreak in its tracks. We heeded almost none of them. The result is a pandemic on a scale never before seen in our lifetimes. In this captivating, authoritative, and eye-opening book, science journalist Debora MacKenzie lays out the full story of how and why it happened: the previous viruses that should have prepared us, the shocking public health failures that paved the way, the failure to contain the outbreak, and most importantly, what we must do to prevent future pandemics. Debora MacKenzie has been reporting on emerging diseases for more than three decades, and she draws on that experience to explain how COVID-19 went from a potentially manageable outbreak to a global pandemic. Offering a compelling history of the most significant recent outbreaks, including SARS, MERS, H1N1, Zika, and Ebola, she gives a crash course in Epidemiology 101--how viruses spread and how pandemics end—and outlines the lessons we failed to learn from each past crisis. In vivid detail, she takes us through the arrival and spread of COVID-19, making clear the steps that governments knew they could have taken to prevent or at least prepare for this. Looking forward, MacKenzie makes a bold, optimistic argument: this pandemic might finally galvanize the world to take viruses seriously. Fighting this pandemic and preventing the next one will take political action of all kinds, globally, from governments, the scientific community, and individuals—but it is possible. No one has yet brought together our knowledge of COVID-19 in a comprehensive, informative, and accessible way. But that story can already be told, and Debora MacKenzie's urgent telling is required reading for these times and beyond. It is too early to say where the COVID-19 pandemic will go, but it is past time to talk about what went wrong and how we can do better.

This reader offers some of the most important writing to date from the science of COVID-19 and what science says about its spread and social implications. The readings have been carefully selected, introduced, and interpreted for an introductory or graduate student readership by a distinguished medical sociology and political science team. While some of the early science was inaccurate, lacking sufficient data, or otherwise incomplete, the author team has selected the most important and reliable early work for teachers and students in courses on medical sociology, public health, nursing, infectious diseases, epidemiology, anthropology of medicine, sociology of health and illness, social aspects of medicine, comparative health systems, health policy and management, health behaviors, and community health. Global in scope, the book tells the story of what happened and how COVID-19 was dealt with. Much of this material is in clinical journals, normally not considered in the social sciences, which are nonetheless informative and authoritative for student and faculty readers. Their selection and interpretation for students makes this concise reader an essential teaching source about COVID-19. An accompanying online resource on the book’s Routledge web page will update and evolve by providing links to new readings as the science develops.

‘No one till now has written on the coronavirus against a cultural backdrop as vast as this—crossing centuries, continents and disciplines. This small book will outrun all the repetitive details of the pandemic with which we are being regularly bombarded’ ASHIS NANDY ‘Vinay Lal's 3-D analysis of the what and the why of the COVID experience, is a must read for grasping the finer lines of history, culture and literature invisibly woven into the global response to the pandemic’ GANESH DEVY ‘Lal writes with an ease that is a pleasure to read. This book shows how we can see ourselves in the crisis of COVID-19, in the mirrors of our common, shared but unfinished humanity’ SATENDRA NANDAN There has never been anything like the Covid-19 pandemic in history. The world as we knew it has changed and the fury of Covid-19 has unleashed new forces, leaving us with an uncertain future. Though its fatality rate, in comparison with some previous epidemics such as the Black Death and the ‘Spanish flu’ of 1918-20, is strikingly low, and though it follows in the path of epidemics such as HIV, SARS, and Ebola, the coronavirus pandemic has produced outcomes which are altogether unprecedented. There is no other instance where the world was, over three months, brought to a standstill and the global economy shuttered. Most countries imposed a ‘lockdown’ and shut down their borders. In Italy and Spain, old people were left to die; in India, millions of migrants took to the road. In some countries rulers have assumed emergency powers. America, the world’s superpower, has been brought to its knees. The economic impact of the outbreak has been shattering; the environmental implications may yet be monumental. Investigating all these trends and the social, cultural, political, and philosophical aspects and implications of the pandemic, this book evaluates the fate of humankind and the earth in its wake.

Since its emergence in early 2020, the COVID-19 crisis has affected every part of the world. Well beyond its health effects, the pandemic has wrought major changes in people’s everyday lives as they confront restrictions imposed by physical distancing and consequences such as loss of work, working or learning from home and reduced contact with family and friends. This edited collection covers a diverse range of experiences, practices and representations across international contexts and cultures (UK, Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand). Together, these contributions offer a rich account of COVID society. They provide snapshots of what life was like for people in a variety of situations and locations living through the first months of the novel coronavirus crisis, including discussion not only of health-related experiences but also the impact on family, work, social life and leisure activities. The socio-material dimensions of quotidian practices are highlighted: death rituals, dating apps, online musical performances, fitness and exercise practices, the role of windows, healthcare work, parenting children learning at home, moving in public space as a blind person and many more diverse topics are explored. In doing so, the authors surface the feelings of strangeness and challenges to norms of practice that were part of many people’s experiences, highlighting the profound affective responses that accompanied the disruption to usual cultural forms of sociality and ritual in the wake of the COVID outbreak and restrictions on movement. The authors show how social relationships and social institutions were suspended, re-invented or transformed while social differences were brought to the fore. At the macro level, the book includes localised and comparative analyses of political, health system and policy responses to the pandemic, and highlights the differences in representations and experiences of very different social groups, including people with disabilities, LGBTQI people, Dutch Muslim parents, healthcare workers in France and Australia, young adults living in northern Italy, performing artists and their audiences, exercisers in Australia and New Zealand, the Latin cultures of Spain and Italy, Asian-Americans and older people in Australia. This volume will appeal to undergraduates and postgraduates in sociology, cultural and media studies, medical humanities, anthropology, political science and cultural geography.