from the Justinian plague to the Black Death and the Spanish flu. Though the risk of a pandemic in any given year is estimated to be quite low based on past frequency, they can have dramatic and transformative effects
The Plague of Justinianin 541 A.D. was attributed to the bubonic plague and wiped out 25 to 50 million people in one year.9 The Black Plaguekilled more than 75 million people from 1347 to 1351, including those who died in Europe, Middle Eastern lands, China, and India.10 The 1918 Spa...