At the start of the pandemic, many of us assumed that a vaccine would be available in about a year. We assumed it because (1) We couldn’t bear to think otherwise; (2) With the whole world working on it, somebody was bound to come up with something; and (3) That’s how the pandemic ended in the movie “Contagion.”
我们是正确的,不过1月2020, the odds were against vaccines for three reasons: (1) No vaccine had ever been developed in such a short time; (2) Even if developed, billions of doses couldn’t be manufactured in such a short time; (3) Even if manufactured, it would take forever to get the vaccines into the arms of billions of people.
That the vaccine inventors, manufacturers and distributors succeeded way beyond their own expectations should make for an exciting story. But there’s something flat and morose about HBO’s new documentary, “How to Survive a Pandemic.” It’s as if the film itself is suffering from a pandemic hangover and can’t believe there’s a reason to feel better, even when describing one of the greatest scientific and manufacturing achievements in human history.
Almost buried beneath director David France’s concern that the vaccines haven’t been equitably distributed to underprivileged countries is the great news that the vaccines were invented at all. As late as the spring of 2020, scientists didn’t even know if COVID antibodies would kill the virus. They knew that vaccines and naturally acquired immunitycreatedantibodies, but they didn’t know for sure that the antibodies would have any effect. Yet a mere half a year later, there were four high-performing vaccines being made available to the public — Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Astra-Zeneca.
The happiness that scientists felt at this near miracle is communicated, at least to a degree. We see a group of Pfizer honchos finding out that their vaccine was more than 90% effective, and soon after,we see Kizzmekia Corbett, co-creator of the Moderna vaccine, crying with joy at hearing that her vaccine was 94.5% effective. The movie also reminded me of something I’d almost forgotten — the festive atmosphere at the vaccination sites, with music playing, everyone in a good mood and everyone being nice to each other.
But for the most part, “How to Survive a Pandemic” is a pretty dry experience. Perhaps it should be. It follows a number of people, including science journalist Jon Cohen (who conducts so many interviews here you might assume him to be the filmmaker), Glenda Gray (of the South African Medical Research Council) andTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesusof the World Health Organization.
We also get a couple of anecdotes from inside the Trump administration. One researcher says that on two occasions, apropos of nothing, Donald Trump outlined an oval in the air and pronounced, “It’s oval in here. This is the Oval Office, and I’m the president.” For all we know, he’s still saying it.
导演大卫·f。法国赢得了奥斯卡奖提名or an earlier film, the similarly titled, “How to Survive a Plague” (2012), which told of activism and science that led to AIDS becoming a manageable rather than fatal syndrome. He made it years after the height of the AIDS epidemic. Perhaps a similar distance of time would have benefited “How to Survive a Pandemic.”
L“How to Survive a Pandemic”:Starring Jon Cohen, Glenda Gray andTedros Ghebreyesus. Directed by David France. (Unrated. 106 minutes.) On HBO and HBO Max beginning March 29.