‘We were in a war’: behind 2021’s most devastating Covid-19 documentary

Matthew Heineman's gruelling new film The First Wave takes us back the terrifying early stages of a world-changing virus

It is tempting to suggest that the Covid deniers, the hoaxers, the hucksters, the anti-vaxxers, the flat earthers, the merchants of disinformation and the crackpot conspiracy theorists be strapped into a chair and force fed The First Wave, a harrowing documentary about the early toll of the coronavirus pandemic.

Covid-19 has never been a media-friendly" story: death and suffering happen in intimate spaces behind closed doors, where few cameras or reporters are permitted. It is therefore less spectacular news than the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, even though the current loss of life is still equivalent to a 9/11 every three days.