Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak is a mini documentary series on Netflix that is directed by Isabel Castro and Doug Shultz, and produced by Zero Point Zero Productions. It features Syra Madad, who is the Senior Director of New York City Health and Hospitals. The series has a total of six episodes.
"If anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades, it’s most likely to be a highly infectious virus rather than a war – not missiles, but microbes. We’re not ready for the next epidemic." These were the exact words of Bill Gates, at a talk he gave five years back. As he had warned, today the world is facing COVID-19, a pandemic infection caused by the Coronavirus. Considering all the above circumstances, there cannot be a better time for this series to release.
Pandemic begins with a shot of Dr Dennis Caroll using ultrasound and other scientific methods to survey a large field which actually turns out to be a mass grave. It is one of those fields that were used to bury people during a flu outbreak in 1918, that killed around 50-100 million people. That single shot gives you a precursor of what lays ahead in the series, and how serious pandemic diseases are. The documentary sets forth a theory that we are about to face a new virus that spreads fast.
The documentary also showcases the techniques involved in controlling various viruses across the world. For example, the second episode of the series has a chapter about how Congo dealt with the Ebola virus. With each episode being divided into chapters, one might get the feel of reading a non-fiction book, but nevertheless, the seriousness of the content keeps you hooked to the series.
Pandemic not only shows us how viruses spread, but it also shows us the issues faced by doctors who treat such viruses, and also underlines what people should do in order to keep themselves away from the pandemic diseases and stay healthy. In the process, the docu-series highlights the way governments across the globe cut the funding for researchers who were involved in finding a universal vaccine for flu.
Pandemic reinstates how unprepared we are, to face a pandemic disease, and it's been more than 100 years since that flu in 1918 killed more than 50 million people. This very fact instills a lot of fear because it's true, as we are seeing in the case of Corona. Or to put it in the words of Dennis Caroll, "When we talk about another flu pandemic happening, it’s not a matter of if, but when." This series is definitely not for the ones with a weak heart.
This does not mean that the series drives home a message -- that we are all doomed. In fact, it does the opposite. It gives you hope that there's still a lot that can be done, and there are people we don't know, who are working day and night to fight these pandemic diseases. The series doesn't have one hero in specific. Instead it's the doctors, the scientists, the researchers and everyone who is working in improving health conditions of humans.
Overall, Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak Season 1 is a complete guide on how to react to a pandemic disease, educating you on how it all begins, how it spreads, the hazards faced by the people who are involved in saving us, and the precautionary measures that have to be taken, told in a very gripping manner. A must-watch, considering the situation the world is in right now.