About epidemics; it's not 1918, or 1348. Don't relax, and don't panic.

The Corona virus outbreak, centered in Wuhan, justifiably has epidemiologists and health experts alarmed. It's also been a shot in the arm (groans are appropriate here) for the cottage industry that peddles over the top comparisons to the Black Death and Spanish flu. 

Because Corona viruses spread through respiratory transmission, comparisons to the 1918 Spanish flu are appropriate, to a point. The doomsayers routinely miss a big detail however, namely that it's not 1918 (or the middle of the 14th century if we want to reach back to the Black Death). 

In 1918, there were no antibiotics that might have saved patients who succumbed to secondary bacterial infections. There were certainly no antivirals that might have blunted the primary infection. Nursing care was nowhere near its current state in ability to support patients. Ventilators didn't exist. Most importantly, national and international public health systems were just getting started. Communication may have taken weeks to cross oceans and continents. Trans-oceanic cables existed for those who could afford to use them, which didn't always apply to health authorities. 

In short, a 1918 style epidemic needs a 1918 world to happen in. In 2020, we have capabilities to contain even a highly infectious, rapidly spreading disease. A bad Corona virus can kill a lot of people, and those deaths will be tragedies. But keep perspective, panic is also deadly.