Book Review… A timely and informative treatise

Apr 26, 2020 Book Review…, News

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Book: Pandemic and World Economy – Learn about the Nobel Viral Outbreak, How to Survive it, and its effects on Global Economy
Author: Steven Haynes
Critic: Glenville Ashby, PhD

Steven Haynes’ ‘Pandemic and World Economy‘ couldn’t be more timely. Amid global fear and uncertainty caused by COVID-19 (once referred to as 2019 novel coronavirus or 2019-nCoV), the author presents a sobering account on the current pandemic. Comprehensive and detailed, Haynes describes the lethality of the virus in terms of its flu-like characteristics, for which most people do not seek medical care, and the lack of an antidote. Of its high infection rate, Haynes expounds, “Novel virals are transmitted in humans by airborne droplets formed by infected people.”
Of the origin of the terminology, ‘novel,’ he writes, “The name refers to the characteristic appearance of electron microscopy of virions (the infective form of the virus), which have a fringe of large bulbous surface projections producing an image reminiscent of a crown or a solar Novel Viral.

He examines their different strains with particular attention to SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), MERS (respiratory syndrome in the Middle East), and Wuhan Novel Viral or the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
Haynes traces SARS, the first of these strains to Guangdong Province in 2002.
“In 2012,” he writes, “MERS was first reported with many stricken with fever, cough, shortness of breath, and sometimes gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea.”
In 2003 alone, no less than five novel virals were identified, each causing “significant morbidity and mortality due to a diseased upper and lower respiratory tract.”
‘Pandemic and World Economy‘ was published on the eve of the meteoric spike of COVID-19 cases in Europe and the United States, but does explore the impact of the virus on China’s economy.
Haynes writes, “[2020] is already characterized by the Novel Viral Epidemic that has killed thousands of people and infected thousands more, putting the brakes on China’s economy.” Citing economists polled by Reuters, he states that “the growth rate of China is expected to fall from 6 percent in the previous quarter to
4.5 percent in the first quarter of this year,” [and that] “with much of the country in lockdown, according to Standard Chartered, the virus could affect up to 42 percent of [its] economy.” (China has since lifted its restrictions but the impact of the virus on the economy has not abated.)
Of the world’s growing dependence on China‘s economy, Haynes argues that bilateral and multilateral trade agreements with other nations would be severely affected. He notes, “Exports and imports from [China] cover destinations and outlets covering all regions of the world, and agriculture and food constitute a significant portion of [its] portfolio of trade, [raising] questions about the influence of the latest Novel Viral outbreak on the supply and demand side of agriculture, both [in that country] and abroad, with potential ripple effects on food prices and markets.”
As of April 2020, the virus had taken a stark toll on human life with more than 2.7 million cases and more than 190,000 deaths. (Source: worldmetersinfo).
Globally, millions have found themselves out of work. In the United States alone, 26 million people have applied for unemployment claims. The psychological and economic toll is staggering.
Governments around the world have taken the hard decision to restrict constitutional liberties to prevent the spread of the virus. With economic hardships worsening, there is growing resistance in the United States to mass lockdowns, many arguing that the cure (economic stagnation) cannot be worse than the problem (the virus). How state officials respond is left to be seen.
Of precautions against contracting the virus, many of which have been repeatedly emphasized by health officials, Haynes mentions the importance of wearing of face masks, avoiding live animals, avoiding raw foods, quarantining after traveling to affected areas, and seeking medical advice prior to arriving.
The author cautious against gullibility, and presents a table that divaricates fact from fiction. Of the common cold vis-à-vis novel viruses, he offers, “some very rough estimates of the lethality of Novel Viral put the death rate at 2 percent, about 40 times higher than the flu [but] “it is more likely to drop rather than rise, particularly when therapies improve and previously mild, undiagnosed cases are also counted.”
And of a vaccine to combat the virus, Haynes is cautiously optimistic. “Almost certainly,” he writes, “it will be less effective in older people, [not due] “to the vaccine itself, but aging immune systems do not respond to vaccination as well.” And while “researchers have developed and are starting to test the vaccines on animals, realistically, it will be at most halfway through the year.”
Despite being weighed down by scientific terms and explanations, Haynes work will find broad appeal given the inexorable reach of COVID-19.
The pandemic of 2020 demands that we are not only better prepared to combat novel virals, but we are able to identify their origins.
Notable is that countries, such as the United States, have begun to reassess their dependence on China for essential commodities, including medicine and surgical gear.
Moreover, many are questioning why major economic powers with advanced intelligence-gathering capabilities are left scrambling to ably respond to such crises.
Peddling disinformation for economic, political, geopolitical, and cultural reasons threatens global stability. Equally revolting is state secrecy and masking the truth in the face of danger.
Countries engaging in bioengineering research must exercise vigilance and be as transparent and forthcoming as possible. Such guidelines, many argue, would have prevented the global catastrophe we face today.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

Pandemic and World Economy – Learn About the Novel Viral Outbreak, How to Survive it, and its effects on Global Economy
Feedback: [email protected] or follow him on Twitter@glenvilleashby
(C) Copyright 2020 Steven Haynes
ISBN: 9798630052872
Available at Amazon
Ratings: Recommended

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