Perspectives on Pandemics (1918-2020): What Does History Teach Us?

Since 1918, the world has experienced three additional pandemics, 1957, 1968, and 2009 - each less severe than the 1918 pandemic but raising the question of whether a high severity pandemic on the scale of 1918 could occur in modern times. Many experts have thought so and have recommended global preparation for possible pandemics as current preparedness is seen to warrant improvement. Clearly, hindsight suggests that we were insufficiently prepared in 2020 and much attention has been given to this situation. Looking back and looking forward, considering the issue of pandemics-the ultimate lesson suggests that "we can never be too prepared." It has been said that all pandemics follow the same basic course: they begin, they escalate, they attenuate, and they end. What differentiates one pandemic from the other is what we do to bend the curve during the escalation phase and how quickly we can deploy the lessons learned as the enormity of the disease progression becomes painstakingly evident. When this is over, we would like to say with confidence that "we did what needed to be done when it needed to be done." As health care professionals we should ask no more that this and as a society we should expect no less.