Pandemic Waves

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Past episodes teach us that pandemic always ebbs and flows in waves, warning us against any premature celebration of its defeat

Concept –

The three pandemics between 1817 and 1920 show they stay for a while and come in waves before dying down.
- Chronicles cholera (1817), plague (1894) and influenza (1918), which collectively claimed over 72 million lives globally — 40 million in India.
Past episodes teach us that pandemic always ebbs and flows in waves, warning us against any premature celebration of its defeat.
From past experiences, the policy focus should have been on anticipating a mutation of the virus.