Laurie Garrett

He says, I was recently listening to a Star Talk episode about pandemics years ago.

which had to be Laurie Garrett.

Laurie Garrett, for sure.

He says, I was curious.

The guest said that back when we no longer have to vaccinate for smallpox, it's because we eliminated the virus.

And we have one of the world's most knowledgeable people on the intersection of vaccines and the public's reaction to it.

Laurie Garrett.

Laurie, welcome to StarTalk.

Thank you.

Cosmic Queries edition.

Vaccines.

Laurie Garrett, vaccine professional extraordinaire.

No, you're just, it's not so much vaccines, it's you're just good about all diseases.

I was visiting family in Niagara Falls this weekend and couldn't stop thinking about a possible new plague.

I blame Laurie Garrett and Annie Jacobson for infecting my brain with books full of nightmare fuel.

Do I go home and fill my medicine cabinet with streptomycin or ciprofloxacin? Are those even the best antibiotics to treat pneumonic plague? Do I search for hazmat suits on eBay? Do I build an underground bunker with a chemical shower and negative pressure HVAC? Do I rummage around drawers in search of expired rapid antigen tests and bottles of Purell? The word plague was once a time machine to a distant past.

You pictured rats and 14th century European villagers moaning on makeshift gurneys.