Helen Branswell's death

Helen Branswell, a reporter who saw the pandemic coming well before others, died at 69 in Ottawa.

Cause of death

Her death was from complications of a recurrence of breast cancer, her sister said.

Early pandemic warnings

She posted on Twitter in 2019 about unexplained pneumonia in China, saying it might be nothing.

“Hopefully this is nothing out of the ordinary”

Early pandemic warnings

Two days later, she wrote, not liking the looks of this outbreak.

“Not liking the looks of this”

First article on pandemic

On Jan 4, 2020, she published her first article on growing clusters of unexplained pneumonia.

Fauci panel challenge

She challenged Fauci about low risk of spread, saying it was spreading efficiently.

“Explain to me why the risk is low, somebody. Because to me, when i look at this virus spreading, it’s spreading very efficiently”

Fauci's response

Fauci admitted the risk of a global pandemic was absolutely yes.

“Is there a risk that this is going to turn into a global pandemic? Absolutely, yes”

CDC criticism

She criticized the CDC for not holding public briefings, calling them invisible.

“You’re invisible now, sir. Your agency is invisible”

Award recognition

She won a 2020 George Polk Award and was a 2021 Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Expert praise

Experts called her a godlike figure for infectious disease reporting during the pandemic.

“a godlike figure to people who are infectious-disease epidemiologists”