Discussion on Different Pandemics (Essay Sample)

Pandemics
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Pandemics
Throughout human history, pandemics have devastated humanity, altering the course of history and sometimes threatening the civilization. Many of these pandemics have also driven innovation in the development of vaccination and medications in preserving the global population. Some of the notable pandemics include the smallpox pandemic and the Spanish Flu pandemic.
Smallpox Pandemic
In the 15th and 17th centuries, the European settlers introduced the new disease in the continents of Americans in 1492. Smallpox was considered contagious, killing 30% of people infected. Smallpox is caused by Variola, a virus that is a member of the orthopoxvirus genus. The virus is generally transmitted directly from person to person through prolonged face-to-face contact ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"c60cjHVL","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(CDC, 2021)","plainCitation":"(CDC, 2021)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":10717,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/qBtJ3Wwt/items/4GNTDYXP"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/qBtJ3Wwt/items/4GNTDYXP"],"itemData":{"id":10717,"type":"webpage","abstract":"History of Smallpox","language":"en-us","title":"History of Smallpox | Smallpox | CDC","URL":"https://www.cdc.gov/smallpox/history/history.html","author":[{"family":"CDC","given":"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention"}],"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2021",4,29]]},"issued":{"date-parts":[["2021",2,21]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (CDC, 2021). At the time, it is estimated that 20 million people died, which was 90% of the total population in the continents. In the attempt to contain the disease, people isolated the infected people. However, variolation was also used to strengthen an individual's immunity, even though people also died from this method due to exposure to smallpox poles. Vaccines that have been developed include ACAM2000 and Jynneos, where the latter is more efficient and is used in individuals with the weakened immune system.
The Spanish Flu
The Spanish Flu, also known as the 1918 influenza pandemic, is categorized as one of the worst pandemics in recent years. The pandemic spread throughout the world between 1918-1919, affecting more than 500 million people. Approximately 50 million-100 million people died, with 675,000 occurring in the United States ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"gqY6Lgwr","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(CDC, 2019)","plainCitation":"(CDC, 2019)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":10718,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/qBtJ3Wwt/items/E9RMQS3V"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/qBtJ3Wwt/items/E9RMQS3V"],"itemData":{"id":10718,"type":"webpage","abstract":"History of 1918 Influenza Pandemic","language":"en-us","title":"History of 1918 Flu Pandemic | Pandemic Influenza (Flu)