The Heart of Toronto: Corporate Power, Civic Activism, and the Remaking of Downtown Yonge Street

Abstract

culturally in Europe and North America” (78). Recommendations about masking changed, creating an opening for dissenters to claim that the science was wrong, or at least uncertain. Not wearing a mask became a political statement in some parts of the world. Duffin provides a short history of quarantine before moving on to the issue of lockdowns. Throughout the book, she does an excellent job of briefly pointing out the different approaches taken in different countries, noting how “Lessons from the pandemic kept coming” (86). When she turns her attention to “the tangled weeds of therapeutics” (106), moving quickly through various treatments, Duffin’s clinical knowledge is on full display. She describes the necessary interventions such as intubations and takes us through the story of treatments. She provides enough detail for a non-clinician to understand each one, while showing the clinical consequences of public debate. For example, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s endorsement of hydroxychloroquine in March 2020, shortages were reported and this had consequences for people with lupus or arthritis, who use the drug to alleviate their symptoms. Concurrent with the push for therapeutics was the development of vaccines, which is described as “a remarkable scientific success story” (111). Duffin estimates that 55 vaccines were in development and some, such as the mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, were entirely novel. In the space of a few short months, vaccines were available in some countries. In the final section of the book, Duffin uses selective examples to provide an analysis of subsequent-wave infections and new variants. The book ends with the rapid spread of omicron. As the case numbers piled up, the system of tracking and testing strained under the weight of this variant. The response to omicron was, to say the least, not as robust as in the initial wave of the pandemic. China, which continued its policy of firm lockdowns, was the exception. Elsewhere, mask restrictions were lifted, initially for people who were vaccinated, and then for everyone. Businesses re-opened and people were told that they had to learn to “live with COVID-19 and learn to accept a few deaths” (193). The pandemic is, of course, not over. Declarations to the contrary reflect the perspective that COVID-19 could be controlled, even if there was an ongoing social cost. Although there will be other histories of the pandemic, I am confident that Duffin’s analysis will occupy an important place in the historiography of COVID-19 for years to come.