Covid-19: “Unprecedented”? Not Really - Abstract
The Covid-19 pandemic that began in 2020 has been widely described as an unprecedented occurrence that could not be anticipated. The reality of overwhelmed emergency rooms and hospitals was reported as perhaps tragic but certainly unexpected. So, too, were the number of patients who while recovered suffered long term respiratory and neurological conditions. And, when a vaccine was introduced, there was surprise at the number of persons who rejected it, and the science that had produced it. In fact, however, none of this was unprecedented. The history of pandemic occurrences is replete with antecedents that could have but were not employed both in planning for this viral event and as guidance during its virulent years. That history is briefly reviewed here as is the identification of what was unique in practitioner and public response to the course of the respiratory virus