Healthcare researchers will mine stories about the COVID pandemic for decades to come. It stretched both American and global society to their limits to a degree not seen since the flu pandemic of 1918. Many expected federal coordination of the response, but they swiftly became disappointed. Both the White House and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) left the pandemic looking really bad, and I suspect history’s judgment upon each will only worsen with time.…
The pandemic era provided the world many types of stories that have not been seen in generations, at least since the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918. Healthcare workers and governmental leaders had the most stress refracted their way. Jahangir, a colleague and trauma surgeon at Vanderbilt Medical Center and chair of the board of health in Metro Nashville, served in both roles. What was naively thought to last perhaps only weeks or even a few…
Most Americans, heeding the news in 2020-2021 during the coronavirus pandemic, have some bits and pieces about how the “war” against the coronavirus was waged. Very few (yet) have a comprehensive view. Enter Borrell’s The First Shots. In it, he aims to provide a first-draft of a history describing the vaccine’s development. Resulting is an engaging and educational narrative that will inform generations to come. With many actors, Borrell tellingly provides “A Cast of Characters”…
I just got off a helpful call with Vanderbilt Medical Center (VUMC) leadership about COVID and the holidays. From a public-health perspective, I feel that I need to pass along the notes that I took. The presenter was Gordon Bernard. He is an Executive Vice President at VUMC and is respected worldwide both as a researcher and as a clinician. He has worked for over forty years as a Critical Care pulmonologist. This information is…
The Great Influenza by John BerryBest account of the Spanish Flu of 1918 – the last major pandemic. A History of Public Health by George RosenPublic Health measures over time. The classic history of Public Health. A History of Global Health by Randall PackardDoes for the field of Global Health what Rosen did for Public Health.