Rethinking the COVID-19 pandemic to better prepare for future outbreaks

Yes, it's really been 5 years. On January 7, 2020, we published an article with the headline “Doctors race to identify mysterious disease that emerged in China.'' By that point, at least 59 people had been infected with the virus now known to be SARS-CoV-2 (the virus behind COVID-19). The rest is now history.

Of course you know it all. you experienced it. So why are we publishing a special report on the COVID-19 pandemic now? For many people, the height of the pandemic was an incredibly painful and difficult time. (See “How the World Warped Our Experience of Time”)