| Damn. I was thinking just a couple days ago that serum therapy might be a potential treatment avenue. For whatever reason, the plot of a Dragonriders of Pern novel came to mind, and I realized the similarity of the situation to the COVID-19 pandemic, and found myself wondering if the solution there wouldn't be workable here in the real world. <Spoilers> In Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern, a viral disease (a flu strain IIRC[1]) jumps from horses to people, and quickly begins spreading. A quarantine is implemented, but too late, and the illness becomes an epidemic. And this is Very Bad, because the dragonriders and everyone else find themselves with people falling ill and dying just in time for Thread to return.[2] One of the master healers is infected in the line of treating others. Once he recovers, he realizes that his blood can be used to produce a serum to treat others. And so begins the work of producing the serum and logistical problems of getting it everywhere needed fast enough. One thing we have over the fictional Pernese peoples is that we have a more advanced medical medical establishment that could probably produce a serum quicker and more precisely, with less secondary infection risk. (Although, a brief shortage of blood-work needles wouldn't surprise me.) And while Pernese dragons can teleport, they also tire, whereas our planes and trucks need only refueling, and each does not require a unique psychically-bonded pilot/driver to operate at all -- round-the-clock shift work is possible. </Spoilers> And I just realized, I recalled almost all of those details from memory without the aid of Wikipedia. I read that book back in middle school. Damn. [1] I might be wrong about this detail. I know I am recalling this from an interview that I read, but I might be mis-remebering. The author might have been stating she took inspiration from the 1918 flu pandemic. [2] If you're unfamiliar with the Dragonriders of Pern books, the general premise is that periodically, "Thread", a hostile organism which eats all organic matter it can reach, falls from the sky. The dragons and their riders protect everyone else by burning the Thread from the sky before it makes landfall. |