The COVID-19 pandemic of acute respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (CoV) is an unparalleled event that harkens back to days before viruses could be seen or understood. HIV-1 arose as a regional zoonotic disease during the last century and evolved into a global crisis of enormous proportions; it was nearly universally fatal, but its global spread and disease progression were relatively slow, and it was perceived as being more escapable. Uniquely, COVID-19 is caused by a newly discovered CoV strain and part of a virus family that many people had not heard of before, has substantial human-to-human transmission through respiratory secretions, has spread globally within a matter of weeks, affects individuals from all levels of society and status, and has a high enough morbidity and mortality to overwhelm our health care systems. Therefore, it has galvanized public interest in pandemic threats as no other virus has before.