While many scientists believed influenza would cause the next great pandemic, no one was prepared for the new strain of coronavirus that appeared in 2019. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has infiltrated every country and put global public health and the economy at risk. Health-care systems have been pushed to the limit as protective gear, life-saving equipment, tests, and vaccines are scarce and in high demand. From the initial infection to the widespread impact on daily life, Understanding Coronaviruses examines the intricacies of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 and how they compare to previous viruses and pandemics.

Since the identification of the first cases of the coronavirus in December 2019, there has been a significant amount of confusion regarding the origin and spread of the so-called 'coronavirus', SARS-CoV-2, and the cause of the disease COVID-19. Conflicting messages from the media and officials across different countries and organizations, the abundance of disparate sources of information, unfounded conspiracy theories on the origins of the virus, unproven therapies, and inconsistent public health measures, have all served to increase anxiety in the population. Where did the virus come from? How is it transmitted? How does it cause disease? Is it like flu? What is a pandemic? In this concise and accessible introduction, a leading expert provides answers to these commonly asked questions. This revised and updated edition now also covers how the virus mutates, how important these mutations are, how vaccines work, and what we can expect in the near and long-term future.

Since the identification of the first cases of the coronavirus in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, there has been a significant amount of confusion regarding the origin and spread of the so-called 'coronavirus', officially named SARS-CoV-2, and the cause of the disease COVID-19. Conflicting messages from the media and officials across different countries and organizations, the abundance of disparate sources of information, unfounded conspiracy theories on the origins of the newly emerging virus and the inconsistent public health measures across different countries, have all served to increase the level of anxiety in the population. Where did the virus come from? How is it transmitted? How does it cause disease? Is it like flu? What is a pandemic? What can we do to stop its spread? Written by a leading expert, this concise and accessible introduction provides answers to the most common questions surrounding coronavirus for a general audience.

Learn all about COVID-19, including its global spread, social distancing guidelines, and the search for a vaccine. This approachable book will help readers understand the pandemic and answer many of their questions about the disease.

"Combining the molecular, clinical, and historical aspects of virology, Understanding Viruses is a textbook for the modern undergraduate virology course. The text provides an introduction to human viral diseases. Additional chapters on viral diseases of animals; the history of clinical trials, gene therapy, and xenotransplantation; prions and viroids; plant viruses; and bacteriophages add to the coverage."--Jacket.

This curated collection of scientific papers on the origin and global spread of COVID-19 is a unique project that offers explanations at odds with mainstream views as the theme mainly focuses on Panspermia (viruses, microorganisms and their spores, and cometary arrival of even more complex cellular organisms).No other scientific group has paid attention to the temporal unfolding scientific order at the many required levels of understanding — astrobiological and astrophysical, geographical and the temporal order of global proportions, yet regional epidemics, the immunologic dimensions to the infection and epidemic data, the genetics of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as it adapted, varied and appeared in different human populations in the crucial first few months of the pandemic. This in-depth analysis, over a two-year period, allows a better understanding of what engulfed the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, how it happened and the most plausible way.There are many lessons for future generations that can be distilled from the contributions found in this book.

In Understanding American COVID-19 Pandemic Beliefs, Behaviors, Politics, and Society, Herbert C. Covey presents an overview of how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted American society. He proposes that the social and political contexts leading up to and during the pandemic fueled differing and sometimes opposing attitudes and behaviors. Some Americans saw COVID-19 as a dangerous threat while others dismissed it as overblown. Covey observes that these divergent views occurred in a vacuum but were influenced by various political, historical, cultural, psychological, and social factors. He argues that Americans’ social perceptions of the pandemic were affected by the unpredictability of the virus, erosion of trust in science and institutions, degradation of the news by biased news sources and social media, loss of critical thinking skills, denialism, truth decay, high emotions, racism, and unprecedented politicization of the pandemic. In addition, the susceptibility of some Americans to COVID-19 rumors, myths, misinformation, and conspiracies led them to make poor health decisions resulting in more severe cases of COVID-19 or, in some cases, death. The book includes data from numerous national surveys to document American beliefs and behaviors related to the pandemic. Finally, the author shows how these beliefs have led to protests, conspiracies, and social movements regarding pandemic responses.