Main description:

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.

Contents:

Contents

Part I. Introduction

Preparing for the Next Pandemic

Identifying Airborne Transmission as the Dominant Route for the Spread of COVID-19

Asymptomatic Transmission, the Achilles' Heel of Current Strategies to Control Covid-19
Part II. The Origin in China

Pangolins Harbor SARS-CoV-2-Related Coronaviruses

The Epidemiological and Clinical Features of COVID-19 and Lessons from this Global Infectious Public Health Event

Authoritarianism, Outbreaks, and Information Politics

China's Diplomacy and Changing the COVID-19 Narrative
Part III. Europe

First Cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the WHO European Region, 24 January to 21 February 2020

Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Mortality: Are Comorbidities to Blame?

Nudges Against Pandemics: Sweden's COVID-19 Containment Strategy in Perspective

Herd immunity or suppression strategy to combat COVID-19
Part IV. United States and Canada

Public Health Response to the Initiation and Spread of Pandemic COVID-19 in the United States, February 24-April 21, 2020

Characteristics of Persons Who Died with COVID-19 - United States, February 12-May 18, 2020

States Divided: The Implications of American Federalism for COVID-19

Shelter-In-Place Orders Reduced COVID-19 Mortality and Reduced The Rate Of Growth In Hospitalizations

Strong Social Distancing Measures in the United States Reduced the COVID-19 Growth Rate

Understanding COVID-19 Risks and Vulnerabilities among Black Communities in America: The Lethal Force of Syndemics

Early Signs Indicate That COVID-19 is Exacerbating Gender Inequality in the Labor Force

Visualizing the Geographic and Demographic Distribution of COVID-19
Part V. Latin America and Africa

In the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil, Do Brown Lives Matter?"

The Colliding Epidemics of COVID-19, Ebola, and Measles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Africa in the Path of Covid-19
Part VI. Resolution

Why do countries respond differently to COVID-19? A comparative study of Sweden, China, France, and Japan

How Pandemics End