Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Joseph Adrian Buensalido launched two new books on the Covid-19 pandemic on Dec. 7, 2023, at Makati Medical Center.

“Mikrobyong Maliit, Pandemyang Pasakit 2 (Ang Tinulang Salaysay ng Pandemyang COVID-19, Monkeypox At Iba Pa)” continues the poetic documentation of the Philippines’ pandemic experience from January to December 2022, including the Omicron era, the “Poblacion girl,” the political campaign and elections, the threat of monkeypox, and the efforts to slowly get life and living back to normal.

The English translation of the first “Mikrobyong Maliit, Pandemyang Pasakit” that was published in 2022 was also launched. Now titled “Mini Microbe, Painful Pandemic (A Poetic Narration of the Philippine COVID-19 Pandemic),” it reviews how the pandemic started in the country, the first wave, the long and hard lockdown at the outset, the health heroes who died at the frontlines, and the much awaited arrival of new vaccines and medicines.

The pandemic events are told through poems and supplemented by artworks by the author’s wife, dermatologist Dr. Jocel Soria Buensalido, for the latter book, and their children, Jaime Inigo Soria Buensalido and Clara Alexandria Buensalido.

The books were published to remind Filipinos of how it was to live through a very unique period in history, and ultimately to take the lessons it provided to heart, and to never forget those who lost their lives along the way.

The books are available at Solidaridad Bookshop in Ermita, Manila; or through Shopee (https://shopee.ph/jalbuensalido); Instagram (@mikrobyongmaliitbook); or Facebook (facebook.com/mikrobyongmaliitbook).