A technician works with pathogens in Cameroon.
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Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, acknowledged that while the danger of a deadly pandemic exists, we have more resources than ever to control a disease's spread. We have antivirals and the ability to develop new ones. We have the means to quickly identify infectious agents and modes of transmission. We have superb vaccine technologies and public-health delivery plans. We also have a deep understanding of virus pathology.
Given those advantages, the irony is that the danger of a pandemic is not always in how crafty the virus is. Rather, it's in how our collective psyche could let panic tear us apart instead of helping us pull together--and work together.
To survive, we need to build muscle memory to cope with a crisis. Many of the exercises performed behind the scenes by the government are vital, but periodically remembering that we all must play a calming role in the event of a pandemic is essential too.