The virus that brought humans to their knees in 2020

Dr. Huerta describes how he received the injection of Moderna 10:59

(CNN Spanish) -

2020 had a very different course than the one the world imagined at the beginning of the year.

A strange virus began to rage in China at the end of 2019 and turned on March 11, 2020 into a global pandemic.

In this special end-of-the-year episode, Dr. Elmer Huerta reflects on how the year went by and how a small molecule brought the “superb human being” to his knees.

You can listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform, or read the transcript below.

Who would have thought that the almost ignored announcement made on December 31, 2019 by health officials of several cases of apparent pneumonia related to a market in the Chinese city of Wuhan would end up being the largest pandemic of the 21st century!

The appearance of the rare virus

They spoke of 27 cases of a rare respiratory disease, seven of them serious, and that the most common causes of pneumonia had already been ruled out.

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Without imagining what awaited him, humanity welcomed 2020 by making plans for an unforgettable year;

which it certainly was, but not for the reasons planned or expected.

Faithful to that characteristic that human beings have, that we tend to think that the misfortunes of others will never happen to us, the West looked on apathetically at what was happening in China.

Even when the epidemic spread to its neighboring countries.

How far was China!

How far away was Asia!

When the epidemic reached Europe, the threat became more real.

However, people in the Americas still looked at what was happening on the other side of the ocean as something far away, without preparing for what was coming.

The arrival of the coronavirus in America

Until the epidemic reached our shores.

And then, the cases began to be counted by the millions and the deaths by hundreds of thousands.

Who has been cruel to humanity?

Who has dared to bring human beings to their knees?

Is it some other living being that has done such damage?

Was it not that human beings were invincible, owner of the planet and with the right to change nature at will? Was it not that human beings could pollute the waters, the land and even space, and cut down the trees without Mercy? Was it not that human beings felt themselves to be the owner and lord of the planet, decimating animal and plant species in their desire to exploit nature? Was it not that human beings, in a display of pride, have even been able to to fracture the subsoil of the planet by extracting the gas from its entrails?

Well no, the one who has brought humanity to its knees has not been a living being.

It has been a virus, a molecule like those that have been on planet Earth for hundreds of millions of years.

What are Viruses?

Viruses, unlike bacteria, plants and animals, are not living things (this is a concept that should be taught from kindergarten on).

Viruses are molecules whose only reason to exist is to search for living things to take over their reproductive systems and make billions of copies of themselves, only to find the next victim and repeat the cycle.

Viruses are not born, they do not grow or die, they only reproduce.

Science has not found any specific remedy against viruses.

Either we defeat them with our defense system or they kill us.

One of these viruses is covid-19, the cause of all the scourge experienced so far.

What the coronavirus left in its wake

This new coronavirus has caused illness, death, political divisions, fake news, economic crises.

It has destroyed healthcare systems, exposed inequalities, triggered divorces and even increased cases of anxiety, depression and panic attacks.

Obviously, not everything has been negative.

The virus has awakened the heroism, sacrifice, altruism and selflessness of thousands of human beings who, in their quest to help humanity, have sacrificed their lives to help others.

In a world as interconnected as the one we live in, the peoples of the world have adopted new words in their vocabulary this year: coronavirus, covid-19, confinement, herd immunity, phase 3 studies, PCR, social distance, mask or mask , among others, are already universal words in all languages.

This virus has put us in our place, it has placed us in the place we really have in nature, that of one more animal species.

A species that, if it does not learn to live in harmony with its environment, respecting the largest animal, the smallest tree or the apparently most insignificant bacterium, will end up being the victim of another great pandemic.

The one most likely caused by a virus.

In short, unless man destroys himself in some senseless war, he will be decimated by a virus.

Do you have questions about the coronavirus?

Send me your questions on Twitter, we will try to answer them in our next episodes.

You can find me at @DrHuerta.

You see that we answer them.

If you think this podcast is helpful, help others find it by rating and reviewing it on your favorite podcast app.

And for the most up-to-date information, you can always head over to CNNEspanol.com.

Thanks for your attention.

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