It’s time to take a deep breath. Ebola is an awful disease that has tragically infected a handful of Americans. Though it deserves the full attention of our medical community — most importantly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — it should not be dominating our news, preoccupying our president and other political leaders and frightening Americans into believing an epidemic on U.S. soil is just around the corner.

A Washington Post poll this week showed that two-thirds of Americans fear an epidemic in the U.S., and 4 in 10 said they are somewhat or very worried that a family member may contract the disease. This is simply not going to happen.