‘Coronavirus, Explained’ documentary series review
By Tania Arora, Staff Writer
5/5
Coronavirus, Explained is an American documentary series produced by Vox and is available on Netflix. Actor Jonathan Kimble Simmons is the narrator of the show; it features Bill Gates, Peter Daszak, and archive footage of many other researchers, doctors, and leaders from all over the world. Their first episode is aptly named “This Pandemic.”
The show explains the history, present, and future of COVID-19. The show has been created to clear the misinterpretation and misinformation surrounding the virus.
Did you know that the official name of the virus is SARS-CoV-2? COVID-19 is the name of the disease it causes, which stands for Corona Virus Disease 2019. The narrator explained that the name “corona” references “crown,” since the virus has spikes that appear like a crown. It spread light on how it can spread. The world has faced many such types of infections before and still will in the future, but COVID-19 has been a challenge. Viruses that jump from animals to humans, termed as zoonotic viruses, can cause an extensive outbreak. According to scientists, the virus mutated in a bat but may have transmitted into other species (like fish or snakes) before making the jump to humans. So far, seven types of human-infecting coronaviruses have reportedly hit the globe (including COVID-19). The current virus is the youngest of them all. The narrator explained, “Viruses can be better at spreading if they don’t make their host that sick.” He goes on to say that bats “are teeming with viruses because viruses don’t affect them.”
The future of the situation is uncertain. Dr. Fauci, an expert from Trump’s task force, guesses it will take a year or nearly two to develop and approve the vaccination. The clips in the series show how people in the past have been able to fight it. Bill Gates voiced his concern on how the countries have prepared themselves for wars and prevention of terrorism but never considered the havoc a pandemic could cause.
The documentary is a must-watch for all to know about what has been happening in the world.
