With the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the rearview mirror, at least for now, we look back on a handful of stories that provided sharp insights at key moments in the pandemic.
During the 1918 flu pandemic, white people died at similar rates to Black Americans, according to a new study – a very different pattern than what occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
None of our authors can see the future, but many do have expertise that offers insights about what’s reasonable to expect.
Americans were tired of social distancing and mask-wearing. At the first hint the virus was receding, people pushed to get life back to normal. Unfortunately another surge of the disease followed.
There's no scientific definition for a wave of disease – and no evidence that the original onslaught of coronavirus in the US has receded much at all.
How politicians and the public in Denver, Colorado handled the 1918 flu epidemic is relevant to today.
The recent spike in new coronavirus cases in the US is not due to a second wave, but simply the virus moving into new populations or surging in places that opened up too soon.
A century ago, the influenza pandemic killed about 50 million people. Today we are battling the coronavirus pandemic. Are we any better off? Two social scientists share five reasons we have to be optimistic.
People have lived with infectious disease throughout the millennia, with culture and biology influencing each other. Archaeologists decode the stories told by bones and what accompanies them.
Differences in the viruses' biology and societal contexts mean there's no guarantee today's pandemic will mirror the 'waves' of infection a century ago.
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