Abstract
In early 2020 when the SARS-CoV-2 virus presence was recognized, few imagined how it would affect our personal and professional lives over the ensuing months. Each of us had to make, and some of us still are making, adjustments to our lives that the virus caused. With those disruptions came insights for addressing problems from the next viral pandemic and be sure that there will be another viral intrusion. Fortunately, in our preparations, The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has assisted us with those preparations by publishing a two-volume, 1200-page, 40-chapter treatise on SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 pandemic. 1 If you look at The Royal Society of Chemistry’s impressive account and think it is merely an account of the last 2 years of misery, you’ve missed the point; it is a launching pad for the next viral pandemic.
The tome produced by the efforts of 6 editors and 150 listed chapter authors was no small task. It is a reference and information source for future literature and laboratory investigations, not a historical account. It is not dated material that will grow stale. Indeed, I encourage the editors to create Volume 3, transforming Volumes 1 and 2 into a more transparent road map for addressing future viral assaults. Until Volume 3 is produced, toxicologists will have this review as an un-commissioned guide; non-toxicologist will have to fend for themselves! HINT: The Coronavirus Pandemic and the Future is a good starting point.
For toxicologists, several takeaways can guide fundamental research for assisting society in preparing for the next viral pandemic. Toxicologists are invited to ponder the following 3 questions which RSC’s meaningful work brings into focus: 1. How essential is pathodynamics, ie, what is the importance of knowing the progress of a disease, in this case, a viral infection, for guiding drug/therapy development and treatment protocols? Is it essential to understand not only the mechanism of therapeutic intervention, the way the therapeutic intervention may cause harm, but also the mechanism of how the disease operates, ie, pathodynamics?
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2. Why can’t viruses and viral particles be considered and viewed as toxicants? Viruses do not meet the criteria of living entities: they do not create or consume energy because they do not have metabolic capability and need assistance to reproduce. 3. Since vaccines and the biologics used for SARS-CoV-2 inoculations called “mRNA vaccines” are responsible for high incidences of adverse reactions in the host, can toxicology make a more significant contribution for treating future viral diseases by contributing knowledge on the mechanism, progression, points of susceptibility in the virus and the way it operates? This is the type of information that emerges when the pathodynamics of the virus are understood. There is more to toxicology than feeding, weighing and counting the dead; there are more avenues for addressing viral infections than vaccines and pseudo-vaccines derived from mRNA.
The Coronavirus Pandemic and the Future provides information on what has been and continues to be essential for COVID-19. Its real value is a potential map for what comes after COVID-19. I have identified some questions for toxicologists, and I’m sure there are others. But, of course, other disciplines have the opportunity to do the same.
The publication also guides practicing scientists on what NOT to do during the next pandemic. While scientists cannot control politicians and vision-limited or self-proclaimed experts with hidden agendas, they can curb their indiscretions. An example of such an indiscretion occurs in the book’s forward:
Today’s conspiracy theory, trying to blame China for America’s being hit by this pandemic, has no basis as genomic evidence gives no credence to this politically driven idea that the virus was hatched in a lab in China.
Shame! As the information is evolving, the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus likely originated in a laboratory – no conspiracy theory there. Science’s credibility is diminished by broadcasting an opinion before the facts are known. Scientists must keep their opinions to themselves just as politicians must stop pontificating as if they were scientists and refrain from inane statements like “follow the science,” “the science is settled,” or “it is the scientific consensus.” Those who can and should use this book in preparing for the next viral epidemic or pandemic must look beyond thoughtless indiscretions and see this important work for what it is, as expressed in the title