This is a time for taking stock amid the COVID-19 outbreak. President Trump and his top advisers, public health experts, governors, business leaders, and everyday people are all asking the same questions: Is the outbreak finally starting to wane? If it is, will there be a second wave? And if that happens, could it be worse than the first round?

Times may change, but history is once again repeating itself. Just over 100 years ago, folks were asking similar questions as they endured a different, but savage, illness. It helped make October 1918 the deadliest month in our history.