COVID CHAOS: WHAT HAPPENED AND WHY

COVID Chaos is a book about the 2019 SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic that was written real time, spanning the time from March 31, 2020 through December 31, 2021, by two Emeritus Professors of Infectious Diseases (Adult – RJS, Pediatrics – JSA). RJS's and JSA's careers began with the HIV pandemic, involved collaboration with the 2009 Influenza pandemic, and now are finishing up with the Coronavirus pandemic. The authors have broad experience with outbreaks, from the local level (RJS had career long responsibilities for controlling outbreaks at medical school hospitals and worked taking care of COVID-19 patients during the pandemic), all the way up to the pandemic level (JSA wrote a book about the 2009 Influenza pandemic and has worked with the WHO for the past 10 years. The aim of the book is to give the reader some insight into the global impact of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak during the first two years, from multiple perspectives (patient, healthcare provider, global citizen, public health, economic, geopolitical). An attempt was also made to understand how SARS-CoV-2 caused disease, both its pathogenesis at the individual patient level, and globally, as to how it was so successful at causing a pandemic and how it compares with other organisms capable of causing outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics. It is written to be of interest to anyone who likes to read and wants to know more about what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic and why. COVID Chaos was written by two infectious disease physicians, who each have over 35 years of experience caring for patients with a large variety of infectious diseases. Additionally, both did research in understanding the pathogenesis of infectious diseases, and collectively have many years of experience handling outbreaks at the local level, have been involved with guideline documents making recommendations for reducing infections at the national level, and have global experience managing international infectious diseases. The book begins with three first person accounts from physicians involved in COVID-19 care during the early pandemic, when it was overwhelming hospitals. It then tracks its course from Wuhan, China, to other parts of the world, while comparing and contrasting public health interventions, both at the hospital and local community level, all the way up to country level. The book attempts to understand the broad spectrum of COVID-19 disease, both clinically and pathophysiologically, as well as its global collateral damage. It explores in depth SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development, testing and the geopolitical problems with vaccine deployment, and attempts to understand the origin of SARS-CoV-2 and its place in the pantheon of other organisms causing pandemics. The book concludes with some late breaking pandemic events at the end of 2021 (Omicron variant, etc.) and a global photo essay about the pandemic.

In 1968, Dr Robert J Sherertz went to Wake Forest University, in 1972 attended the University of Virginia for medical school and his Internal Medicine Residency (1972–1979), and from 1979-1982 attended the University of North Carolina School of Medicine for his adult Infectious Disease Fellowship. In 1982, Dr Sherertz joined the faculty in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Florida School of Medicine, where he was the Hospital Epidemiologist, in charge of all outbreak investigations, and then in 1988, joined the faculty in the Department of Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM), and was also the Hospital Epidemiologist at the medical school hospital. During his first 15 years as medical school faculty, Dr Sherertz would become the National President of the American Society of Microbiology Division of Nosocomial Infections and the Chief of Adult Infectious Diseases at WFUSM. Pertinent to this book, Dr Sherertz did 30 years of research focused on the pathogenesis of hospital acquired infections and the mechanism of transmission of many microorganisms, mainly S.aureus. Between 1983 and 2007 he published a series of papers about how S.aureus is transmitted in the hospital setting, particularly through the air, culminating in NIH funding to investigate "Cloud Adults", airborne superspreaders of S.aureus in the setting of viral rhinovirus infection. Recently, Dr Sherertz has taught 3 university courses in Microbial Pathogenesis, and in the last two years, been involved with the care of more than 100 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, as part of his role in teaching Internal Medicine and Family Practice Residents.

In 1968, Dr Jon S Abramson went to Boston University, in 1972, attended WFUSM for medical school and Pediatrics Residency (1972–1979), and then did his pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine (1979–81). In 1981, Dr Abramson joined the faculty at WFUSM in the Department of Pediatrics, where he did research about how influenza virus affects neutrophil function and how to optimize vaccine use in children. and Dr Abramson would become the President of the Society for Pediatric Research and the Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at WFUSM. Dr Abramson's mid and late career ibecame focused on first national, and then international pediatric vaccine issues, becoming the Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases that writes the Red Book, Chair of the US CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and Chair of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE). Particularly pertinent to this book, Dr Abramson wrote the book, Inside the 2009 Influenza Pandemic. Dr Abramson continues to work on various WHO-related committees including SAGE, influenza working group, COVID-19 Vaccine Target Product Profile working group and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (Gavi), and the Vaccine Innovation Prioritization Strategy Committee.

Drs. Sherertz and Abramson have a common heritage at Wake Forest University that goes back 30 years, with multiple collaborations, culminating in this effort to write about the COVID-19 pandemic in real time. During their many years of friendship, Sherertz and Abramson have worked together on outbreak investigations, educational initiatives, and in 2009, when the influenza pandemic occurred, they collaborated to make WFUSM one of the first medical schools in the US to require mandatory flu vaccines. Both Drs. Sherertz and Abramson are Emeritus Professors of WFUSM.