Pandemic-based documentaries you can learn from

Anytime there is a major event, the world watches the news on bated breath. With many people being forced to stay home due to the ongoing spread of the COVID-19 around the world, more people are curious about exactly how pandemics start. In addition to keeping up with the news, learning and understanding about the spread is incredibly important.

Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak

Luckily, there are some excellent documentaries currently available to stream that give a great look at the medical industry and how it handles pandemics. Here are a few insightful documentaries you can stream now.

Bill Nye Saves the World

Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak

This is a Netflix original documentary that follows doctors and scientists during the flu season. The documentary explains how pandemics are spread, prevented, and stopped. The six-episode series is an excellent look into what the science and medical communities are doing during an outbreak. The series also explains the importance of preventative care, including vaccines, particularly the flu shot. Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak is available  on Netflix.

Explained

Explained is a Netflix original documentary produced by Vox Media. The documentary releases episodes on a weekly basis. The fourth episode of the second season, The Next Pandemic, features an expert panel, including Bill Gates, who discuss what protocols are in place in the event of a pandemic as well as if we are truly prepared in the event of one. In the episode, Bill Gates said that when a pandemic the world has not seen before emerges, regardless of its size, people regret not investing more for vaccines. The coronavirus, with its roots in Wuhan's seafood market, eerily replicates previous virus outbreaks like the SARS virus that was also caused by live animal markets.

The question remains on whether scientists and institutions should have invested more to prepare for potential outbreaks modeled after SARS, and if that could have lessened the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Expained is now streaming on Netflix.

Bill Nye Saves The World

Bill Nye Saves The World  is designed with millennials in mind, and covers serious topics including global warming, holistic healing, and vaccines. The episode Do Some Shots, Save the World specifically covers the importance of vaccinating yourself and your children. Bill also explains exactly how vaccines and the flu shot work. The show is now streaming on Netflix.