> Another reply mentioned the Covid-19 vaccines; not quite a survival-of-the-species level problem, but serious nonetheless. In a morbidly curious way, I wonde

> Another reply mentioned the Covid-19 vaccines; not quite a survival-of-the-species level problem, but serious nonetheless. In a morbidly curious way, I wonder what society's reaction and government reactions would have been in the emergence of an airborne pathogen MUCH worse than covid19. Not some fanciful human species killing event like in "The Stand", but with a potential to kill 10-20% of the planet if left unchecked. I hope that wealthy countries' reactions to finding a vaccine, cure and preventing the spread would make the Manhattan Project look like building a back yard tool shed, but I don't know for sure how we would have handled the global catastrophe.