If you're interested in learning more about history's deadliest pandemics, look through this detailed timeline from The Washington Post that extends all the way back to 165 A.D. You may also like to complement that reading with this article from the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), detailing the history of pandemics and economic inequality. As the video suggests, disease outbreaks disproportionately impact poorer populations, and a primary goal for public health officials is increasing accessibility to life-saving care.

TED-Ed has explored the topic of disease outbreak and mitigation in several past lessons. Investigate these different avenues with videos on the science behind a universal vaccine, how we eradicated the smallpox virus, what makes an effective outbreak response, and the odds that we will see another pandemic in our lifetime.