Dr. Robin Cook Discusses COVID-19

An illustration from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the ultrastructural morphology of coronaviruses.

Arjun Singh is a producer for Boston Public Radio. A California native, Arjun moved to Boston to study international relations at Boston University. Prior to working at WGBH, Arjun worked at a tech company and for a political campaign.

March 11, 2020

Updated August 07, 2023

When news broke that a novel coronavirus which was first discovered in China was spreading it was reminiscent of the plots of some novels Dr. Robin Cook has written. Cook is the author of, among other works, the novels “Contagion,” and “Pandemic.”

Though he is a doctor, on Wednesday he told Boston Public Radio that he was inspired to write fiction out of a desire to educate more people about medicine and healthcare.

“Ignorance is prevalent, and ignorance is what I’m trying to do something about writing entertaining fiction to get people to realize that this is a serious [issue],” he said.

Observing the outbreak of COVID-19, Cook said that while he is concerned about its spread he is optimistic that a solution will eventually be found.

“We’ll get through this, but I think that there’s going to be a lot of deaths,” Cook said. “We won’t be able to call winter the cold and flu season anymore. We’ll have to call it the cold, flu and COVID-19 season.”