Coping With COVID-19: Learning From Past Pandemics to Avoid Pitfalls and Panic

Key Messages As we wrestle with how best to mitigate COVID-19, it is imperative to concur on the likely main drivers of transmission (notably, infection clusters resulting from prolonged indoor respiratory exposure) in order to clearly explain risk and to determine the most effective, realistic behavioral and other means to reduce illness and mortality. At the same time, we must avoid generating irrational fear and maintain a broader perspective, including assessing the possibility for substantial unintended consequences from the response to the pandemic.