In 1918, no one had a vaccine, treatment or cure for the Spanish flu pandemic as it ravaged the world and killed more than 50 million people.
No one has any of that for the coronavirus, either WASHINGTON : Despite a century's progress in science, 2020 is looking a lot like 1918.
In the years between two lethal pandemics, one the misnamed Spanish flu, the other COVID-19, the world learned about viruses, cured various diseases, made effective vaccines, developed instant communications and created elaborate public-health networks.
Yet here we are again, face-masked to the max. And still unable to crush an insidious yet avoidable infectious disease before hundreds of thousands die from it.