December 23, 2024

Book Excerpt from You Bet Your Life

Human coronaviruses– as well as other breathing infections, such as influenza, that are spread out by little droplets in coughs and sneezes– are winter diseases. Human coronaviruses do not do any of these things either.Some individuals who endured and caught SARS-CoV-2 never made an immune reaction against the virus. Some of these unique vaccines were being mass-produced in a program called Warp Speed prior to anyone truly understood whether they worked or were safe.In other words, by the end of 2020, an elusive, difficult-to-characterize bat coronavirus that had actually shocked doctors with its uncommon pathologies and novel symptoms was quickly to be countered by a series of vaccines that had never in the past been utilized versus any other virus in history.This book is about catching the feelings of that moment at the end of 2020, when expressions like “Warp Speed,” “the race for a vaccine,” and “vaccine finalists” scared people that corners were being cut, time lines compressed, and safety steps disregarded.

The virus was called SARS-CoV-2 and the illness was called COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-2019). For influenza infection, which kills about thirty thousand people every year, nursing homes account for less than 10 percent of deaths.SARS-CoV-2 raved during the summer months. Human coronaviruses– as well as other respiratory viruses, such as influenza, that are spread out by small beads in coughs and sneezes– are winter season illness. Human coronaviruses dont do any of these things either.Some people who made it through and captured SARS-CoV-2 never made an immune action versus the infection. Some of these novel vaccines were being mass-produced in a program called Warp Speed prior to anybody truly understood whether they worked or were safe.In other words, by the end of 2020, an evasive, difficult-to-characterize bat coronavirus that had amazed doctors with its novel signs and unusual pathologies was quickly to be countered by a series of vaccines that had actually never ever previously been utilized against any other virus in history.This book is about recording the feelings of that minute at the end of 2020, when expressions like “Warp Speed,” “the race for a vaccine,” and “vaccine finalists” afraid people that corners were being cut, time lines compressed, and safety measures ignored.