COVID-19 on the riverbank

In the heart of China's Wuhan province, in a busy marketplace, the SARS-CoV-2 virus skipped over from an animal to a person. In that singular event, in that fraction of a second, the virus became novel to our species. And then it went off like a bomb. The explosion sent shockwaves around the wo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Medical Association journal (CMAJ) 2022-03, Vol.194 (12), p.E462-E463
Main Author: Lodge, Andrew
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Conduct of life
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Epidemics
Epidemiology
Health disparities
Homeless persons
Humanities
Humans
Humor and anecdotes
Manitoba
Pandemics
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In the heart of China's Wuhan province, in a busy marketplace, the SARS-CoV-2 virus skipped over from an animal to a person. In that singular event, in that fraction of a second, the virus became novel to our species. And then it went off like a bomb. The explosion sent shockwaves around the world. The epidemiologists--long heralding the perils of a hidden pathogen lurking somewhere deep in the world genome --were now granted the mantle of clairvoyance. The global tribe convulsed and lurched to its knees. Grappling with the meanness of the world--daily head-to-head bouts with poverty, trauma, violence and exploitation--is another ask entirely. Grinding and exhausting in its apparent futility. The pandemic brought all this to the fore. That seminal question of how to care for the most vulnerable in our midst, whether under a tarp in an urban encampment, in a remote northern community, in a personal care home or wherever.
ISSN:0820-3946
1488-2329
DOI:10.1503/cmaj.211721