“Pandemic” Netflix predicted coronaviruses. The manufacturer is a “ghost”

Rather, someday.

It’s a cry that has been repeated over and over by doctors, scientists, humanitarians, and public health officials referred to in “Pandemics: How to Prevent Outbreaks”. Constructed like a thriller running around the globe, the Netflix documentary series destroys the human population, following dedicated men and women at the forefront of fighting the next catastrophic illness.

Revealed They were right.

With a weird timing coincidence, “Pandemic” premiered on Netflix just late January. New coronavirus It has begun to rampage. After six episodes, this series New respiratory virus It can overwhelm the planet within just a few months. It is not dry data, but epidemiology in an unexpected way through convincing people in remote, seemingly unconnected places, from crowded animal markets in Vietnam to resource-poor hospitals in Oklahoma. Bring life to life.

“ There was already a lot of scary science documentaries in the room talking about the potential for a new virus to spread around the world, ” says Sherifink, executive producer of the New York Times reporter with infectious disease experience. . disease. (She described the pandemic of the H1N1 flu in 2009 and the Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014.) “Around the world, trying to feel the lives of these people who felt passionate thought. [about] And dedicated their life to trying to detect a pandemic. “

These subjects include Susan Friss, a retired nurse volunteer who volunteers for flu shots at the US-Mexico border in Arizona. Jacob Granville, an entrepreneur trying to develop a universal influenza vaccine. Michel Yao, a World Health Organization physician trying to stop the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And an infectious disease expert, Dr. Siramadad, is preparing New York City Hospital for the next pandemic.

Scientists and healthcare workers are the heroes of the story, but there are also opponents: one storyline is the mother of five home-educated mothers, more severe in the midst of a once-measles pandemic Law following Caylan Wagar, an Oregon anti-vaccine activist, fighting vaccination. How do documentaries become more vulnerable to deadly new diseases, including increased distrust of scientific authority, global instability, and lack of funding for public health infrastructure? Shows.

The “pandemic” filmed during the 2018-2019 flu season is full of many of the scenarios relevant to Madad’s work in New York City and is now bearing fruit. Minutes after the first episode, a team of healthcare professionals covered head-to-toe with protective gear running a simulation to test their readiness for a major flu outbreak in the city. Madad, who is overseeing the training, warns them: “If you are not guarded, if you cannot defend yourself, how are you going to protect others?” Then she planes to New York City Within a few weeks, one traveler arriving at Neutralize the city. She also saw appealing to politicians for resources for preparing for the pandemic.

Do you remember?

“Prevention and preparation work—It’s difficult to make people real and care about bad things before they happen,” says Fink.

Isabel Castro, one of the directors of the series, recalls the indifferent reaction of hearing from friends and family about the project he is working on. “Everyone is making a show about the flu?” They said it negatively and I said “No, this is a big deal.” So now very real for the same people Watching the show, “Oh my God. I can’t believe it happened in our lives.”

Production ceased several months before the outbreak of coronavirus began in China. Ironically, it was a relatively mild flu season in the United States, but even a mild flu season is enough to overwhelm Holly Gorak, the only doctor at a hospital in Jefferson County, Okra.

“I didn’t want the flu season to get worse, but at the same time it was difficult because I was talking about all these worst scenarios and didn’t always see it.”

Still, Castro added, “I remember the paranoia growing during the shoot.” Doug Shultz has documented the outbreak of H1N1 in Rajasthan, India. He had to wear a mask while filming doctors and patients in a crowded isolation ward. “It’s very strange [to] Looking back, we confirm that we have experienced exactly what is happening on this trip right now, “he says.

One memory is stuffed in Schultz, despite not making the last cut of the documentary. He traveled to the hospital by bus to poor areas of the area and performed plays to teach proper hand-washing techniques and other basic hygiene. “I continue to suffer from it,” he says. “For all of us, I feel these lessons are long-running.”

Filmmakers have been in contact with scientists and healthcare professionals referred to in the “pandemic”, and almost all have trained efforts to combat the outbreak of coronavirus. Mr. Castro says he has used a ventilator for 16 years and has received a text message from a retired nurse, Flis, who is considering returning to the border. Granville turned his focus back on the coronavirus, Says his company has progressed towards cures. Madad I’m at the forefront of New York City.

For her, Fink is not surprised to see the most disastrous prediction in the documentary. “It’s strange to hear people say,” Oh God, we can’t imagine. ” Experts were very aware that this could happen at any time. “But she acknowledges,” It feels different to be in it than to imagine it. “