As the world lives through this pandemic, similarities between Covid-19 and another terrible plague, tuberculosis, come to mind.  Both can be transmitted by air, both attack the lungs, and both commonly cause fever and coughing. Differences include the fact that tuberculosis is a bacterial illness and Covid-19 is a viral one.

When scientists discovered antibiotics like streptomycin near the end of WWII, tuberculosis was drastically beaten back, though due to factors like multi-drug resistant strains of the disease, it has not been totally eradicated.   As international scientists work to find a vaccine to battle Covid-19,  we hope that history repeats itself, and that these dedicated men and women quickly find the answer the world awaits.