Understanding Coronaviruses: SARS, MERS, and the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Connie Goldsmith

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728428888
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/07/2021
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	1,050,360
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.06(h) x 0.63(d)
Lexile:	1110L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 14 Years

About the Author

Connie Goldsmith is a registered nurse with a bachelor of science degree in nursing and a master of public administration degree in health care. She has written numerous books for YA readers and nearly two hundred magazine articles. Her recent books include Kiyo Sato: From a WWII Japanese Internment Camp to a Life of Service (2020), a Junior Library Guild selection; Running on Empty: Sleeplessness in American Teens (2021); Understanding Coronaviruses: SARS, MERS, and the COVID-19 Pandemic (2021); and Bombs Over Bikini: The World's First Nuclear Disaster (2014), a Junior Library Guild selection, a Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year, an Association of Children's Librarians of Northern California Distinguished Book, and an SCBWI Crystal Kite Winner. She lives in Sacramento, California. Visit her website at http://www.conniegoldsmith.com/.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Hero Doctor's Warning 4

Chapter 2 Meet the Microbes 10

Chapter 3 Meet the Coronaviruses 24

Chapter 4 Going Viral 34

Chapter 5 School's Out! 50

Chapter 6 Flattening the Curve 60

Chapter 7 Health Care Fights Back 74

Chapter 8 The Winter Surge 96

Chapter 9 Finding A New Normal 110

Glossary 120

Source Notes 122

Selected Bibliography 132

Further Information 136

Index 142

Editorial Reviews

[A] well-researched, thorough summary of the COVID-19 pandemic . . ."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

11/01/2021

Gr 7 Up—Beginning with Dr. Li Wenliang of Wuhan Central Hospital sounding the alarm about a potentially deadly new virus on December of 2019, Goldsmith, a registered nurse, takes readers on a journey through the sequence of events that encompass the COVID-19 pandemic. Although there is controversy about the origins of the virus, Goldsmith explains that it likely originated in a market in Wuhan, China, by jumping from an animal host to a human host. Goldsmith provides readers with background information on bacteria and viruses, including an overview of deadly epidemics and pandemics throughout history. Special attention is given to the difference between various coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV-1, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 (which causes the disease COVID-19). The author then explores the reality of COVID-19 in the United States. Issues such as political partisanship in the response to science recommendations and preventative measures are addressed, as well as the disproportionate impact it has had on communities of color and the spike in anti-Asian hate incidents. Later chapters cover the efforts of healthcare workers and the CDC in caring for patients and preventing illness, as well as the real roadblocks that misinformation caused in the attempts to effectively combat the virus. The enormous efforts to create vaccines are described, as well as the successes and shortcomings of the vaccine distribution rollout. With clear language and an organized structure, Goldsmith places the pandemic in context. Extensive source notes and a selected bibliography are included. VERDICT If your library needs a well-researched, thorough summary of the COVID-19 pandemic for middle and high school student research projects and papers, this is a solid choice.—Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's Sch., Brooklyn

School Library Journal

2021-06-24
A general look at the Covid-19 pandemic and response from the first cases through early 2021.

Despite the title, the primary focus here is on the global pandemic that began in late 2019 rather than the science of this class of viruses. Medical professional Goldsmith opens with an account of Dr. Li Wenliang’s realization in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, that he was seeing patients with a respiratory virus similar to SARS. A discussion of the comparative construction of bacteria and viruses offers little to help readers understand how viruses work, and the explanation of the difference between RNA and DNA viruses is cursory. The SARS, MERS, and HIV viruses are also described. Goldsmith addresses the practice of mask-wearing, the global spread of Covid, anti-Asian attacks, and why the pandemic disproportionately affected people of color in the U.S. Long-haul Covid is briefly touched upon. Due to the timing of the book, information about vaccines and their efficacy rates in preventing severe illness and death as well as about Covid variants is, not surprisingly, already incomplete. This condensed account of how the pandemic escalated and what the responses—public health, governmental, social, and political—looked like in the U.S. and around the world throughout 2020 already feels dated and largely ends with the announcement of President Joe Biden’s pandemic strategy in January 2021.

Mostly useful as a historical snapshot of the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. (glossary, source notes, bibliography, further information) (Nonfiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews