Before and during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, as Germ Theory was in its infancy, there were those who blamed epidemics on the immorality of the poor and other unscientific reasoning which reflected the prevailing prejudices of that era. While pandemics hit urban centers hardest, and disproportionately and negatively affect poor and minority communities due to a variety of socioeconomic conditions, then and now, viruses do not discriminate. Thankfully, Germ Theory and the Scientific Method prevailed over mystical thinking, though we still know so little and we have been overconfident in our ability to control viral contagions.
