COVID-19: What Happened; What Follows?

COVID-19: What Happened; What Follows?

Fall (9 - 13 hours) | This course is completed

Online Lebanon, NH 03766 United States

Online Meeting

New

10/12/2020-11/16/2020

2:00 PM-4:00 PM EDT on Mon

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$65.00

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Infectious disease epidemics have shaped human societies throughout recorded history. The Great Pox and Bubonic Plague of the Middle Ages, 1918-19 flu, and HIV/AIDS are but a few examples. Should we have been surprised by the outbreak of COVID-19? What is known about coronaviruses? How does the current virus differ from its cousins that cause SARS, MERS and the common cold?

In this course we will address questions such as: Why have the outcomes (cases, deaths, etc.) been so different from one country to another? We will follow the course of the disease, the interventions, treatments and strategies used, and ask why there were differences among age groups, between the sexes, in the outcomes? What should we expect of health organizations­— international, Federal, and State—in combatting the outbreak? What roles did they perform during the pandemic?

The U.S. economy has suffered a substantial blow. How does the impact compare to the Great Recession (2008-09) and the Depression of the 1930s? What disparities in the US health, social and economic systems did the pandemic spotlight?

Looking to the future, are we to expect further waves of COVID-19? What are the prospects for a vaccine or drugs? When might we expect our economy to return to “normal”?

Finally, if we write to our governmental representatives, what actions should we recommend they undertake to ensure we are better prepared and protected when the next pandemic sweeps the world? What actions should we take ourselves?

  • This interdisciplinary course will be led by a public health epidemiologist who concentrated on infectious diseases (PE), a cardiovascular surgeon (JS), a former WHO disease control specialist involved with the 2003 SARS outbreak in China (AS), and a virologist and pharmaceutical executive with drug and vaccine R&D experience (IS). They bring a range of perspectives to the course topic and collectively have extensive experience in leading Osher courses.
Sim, Iain

Iain Sim has a PhD degree in Microbiology and 30+ years of R&D experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, working on diagnostics, treatments and vaccines in the fields of virology, oncology and immunology. He has been leading Osher courses on the human genome and advances in genetic technology since 2012, interspersing science courses with studies on notable historical figures.

 

Paul Etkind is a retired epidemiologist who focused on infectious disease prevention and control at the local, state, and national levels over the course of his career. He had first-hand experience with anti-vaccination proponents and saw how the doubts sowed there could have broader corrosive effects on public health and on broader social cohesion. 

Sanders, John

John is Dartmouth Class of 1964. He practiced cardiac surgery at Northwestern University Medical School and DHMC for 40 years. This is John’s seventh year as co-leader of “Great Decisions.”

 

Schnur, Alan

Since retiring in the Upper Valley, after an international career with the World Health Organization, Alan has returned to his “American history roots”. He finds amending the U.S. Constitution increasingly relevant today considering how dysfunctional the U.S. Government has become, and the amendments being proposed by left and right wing groups. Alan has BA (history) and MPH degrees, and has led or co-led 10 Osher courses.