5.8 Chapter Summary

Key Summary Points

  1. There are a number of pandemics that have occurred throughout history. Some of the most devastating ones include the Black Death, Spanish Flu, and HIV/AIDS.
  2. Negative human responses are common across pandemics including: resistance to public health measures (e.g., anti-masking, anti-vaccination, anti-isolation); stereotyping and scapegoating; and misinformation campaigns.
  3. Pandemics have an array of social costs and implications, which include impacts on: vulnerable populations, social customs and practices (i.e., travel bans, funerals, dealing with bodies), and grief and depression felt throughout society.

Additional Resources

Additional Viewings

CrashCourse. (July 24, 2014). Disease! Crash course world history 203 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PLBmUVYYeg

Additional Readings

Florencio, J. (November 27, 2018). AIDS: Homophobia and moralistic images of 1980s still haunt our view of HIV – That must change. TheConversation.com. https://theconversation.com/aids-homophobic-and-moralistic-images-of-1980s-still-haunt-our-view-of-hiv-that-must-change-106580

Huremović, D. (May 2019). Chapter 2 – Brief history of pandemics (pandemics throughout history). National Center for Biotechnology Information.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7123574/pdf/978-3-030-15346-5_Chapter_2.pdf

Jarus, O. (November 15, 2021). 20 of the worst epidemics and pandemics in history. Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/worst-epidemics-and-pandemics-in-history.html

Landau, M. (July 22, 2021). Vaccines are highly unlikely to cause side effects long after getting the shot. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/vaccines-are-highly-unlikely-to-cause-side-effects-long-after-getting-the-shot-

McDonald, G. (July 15, 2020). 5 advances that followed pandemics. History. https://www.history.com/news/pandemics-advances

Miller, B. (November 2, 2020). Science denial and COVID conspiracy theories. JAMA Network. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2772693

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). (n.d.). Debunking immunization myths. https://www.paho.org/en/topics/immunization/debunking-immunization-myths

Piret, J. & Boivin, G. (2021). Pandemics throughout history. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7874133/pdf/fmicb-11-631736.pdf

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

On Death and Dying Copyright © 2022 by Jacqueline Lewis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book