Under the Weather: COVID-19 Biosocial System Dynamics

When a novel coronavirus hit the wet markets of China in December 2019, the world was not prepared. The virus spread like wildfire and within a few months, it had gone global. The pathophysiology of COVID-19 garners much attention in healthcare settings, but illness is not limited to its biological impact-the pandemic's effects are a mosaic of social, economic, political, environmental, and evolutionary influences. The rapid spread of COVID-19 led to major global changes that compromised economies, healthcare systems, and global connectivity. Written by a group of Canadian students with a passion for research and medicine, Under the Weather: COVID-19 Biosocial System Dynamics takes an interdisciplinary outlook on the high transmissibility of COVID-19 and explores ways in which policy makers, researchers, healthcare workers, epidemiologists, and the general public have come together in dire times to combat the disease.

Introduction, The Relationship of COVID-19 With Other Viruses, Symptoms of Coronavirus Infections in Humans, Symptoms of Coronavirus Infections in Animals, Evolution of Coronaviruses in the Animal Kingdom Across History, Environmental Factors Impacting COVID-19 Spread, Viral Characteristics that Change Infectivity, Systemic Response to COVID-19: Intervention Portfolios, Travel Restrictions and their Impact on Existing Biosocial Systems, Data Challenges and Space-Time Predictive Models, Social Media, Social Behaviours, Impact of COVID-19 on the Canadian Economy, Long Term Social Impact of COVID-19, Impacts on the Public Health System, Conclusion, Works Cited