Sonny Liew and Dr. Hsu Li Yang Explains The Science Behind Covid-19

What a discombobulating year this has been.

2020's Covid-19 pandemic threw everyone's lives out of whack, and here we are, on the last day of an unforgettable year.

The Covid-19 vaccines arrived in Red Dot Island more than a week ago, and vaccinations have already begun for frontline healthcare workers yesterday. Yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel, but it still feels as if we are treading on thin ice, as the virus is still raging on in other parts of the world.

Red Dot Diva thought that that best way to end 2020 would be a cautious yet positive blog piece about a new webcomic entitled THE SCIENCE BEHIND COVID-19 by local Eisner Award-winning writer/ artist Sonny Liew (The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, Dr. Fate, Malinky Robot, Eternity Girl) and Dr. Hsu Li Yang, Vice Dean of Global Health and Programme Leader of Infectious Diseases at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. The comic was published on 28 December in both the printed and digital versions of the local English-language daily, The Straits Times.

Click on this link to read the web comic - https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/the-science-behind-covid-19-1


With the help of anthropomorphic characters, THE SCIENCE BEHIND COVID-19 explains the steps taken to create and test the vaccines, as well as addresses concerns about the effects of vaccination.

Sonny and Dr. Hsu had previously teamed up for a comic book called THE ANTIBIOTIC TALES, which was published by Epigram Books in 2019. In an easy to read format, the book illustrates about how the overuse of antibiotics affects our health, and dispels common misconceptions about the antibacterial medication.

That same style was used for THE SCIENCE BEHIND COVID-19. The webcomic breaks down the scientific concepts about the virus and vaccine, and yet doesn't belittle a layperson's intellectual ability to be able to understand them.

We all wish for things to "return to normal" ASAP. But in reality, life doesn't magically change when the clock chimes at midnight on the 1st day of the New Year. However, there's one key thing that Red Dot Diva observed in the various events that occurred in 2020 - that there is a need for more compassion, and that the world can only become a better place if we strive to look after one another.

Red Dot Diva wishes everyone A SAFE AND WISER 2021!