If the past 100 years are anything to go by, on average, it ought to happen about once every 25 years; 1918, 1957, 1968, 2020. More often than that if you start

If the past 100 years are anything to go by, on average, it ought to happen about once every 25 years; 1918, 1957, 1968, 2020. More often than that if you start thinking about how close to being one of those SARS and MERS were. I think there were a few interesting factors this time around: 1. Better communication: In the previous cases, there was no internet. Communication even between doctors would have happened via governments, international media, or international conferences. 2. Increased travel: The globalisation of the virus was certainly a bit faster than it otherwise would have been due to the greater level of international travel that (until covid) had been the status quo. 3. Politics: It seems as though health issues, whether to wear masks, whether the virus is "real", how businesses should respond, and so on have become divided along political lines. I'm not sure whether this happened in 1918, 1957 and 1968, but I am guessing it didn't happen to the same degree. Will we be better prepared next time? Ideally yes, but I'm not sure that it's a certainty.