Viruses, plagues, and global health threats are back in the news… A suspected case of a plague in Siberia is the most recent example.
I can’t stop the feeling of being back in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, so I have to remind myself ‘don't press the panic button.’ We need more information first.
Sometimes in these situations, dubious social media posters and headline writers whip up stories that trigger preemptive, often irrational fear.
Doom merchants are out in force.
Other times, as we learned from COVID, some threats are real. More than 7 million lives we're lost worldwide from the epidemic, according to official reports.
We each responded to the crisis differently, but we shared one reaction to the institutions and the leaders handling it: our trust in them collapsed.
We felt bamboozled.
In April 2020, 87% of Americans told Pew they had confidence in scientists to act in the public interest. By late 2023, that number fell dramatically.
Erratic guidance and raucous public debates didn’t help.
What did people do when that trust was lost? For many, it meant taking charge of their own health. It also created an audience for the science of longevity.
Health management transformed from passive to proactive
The underlying science of longevity existed before 2020, but COVID created a wider audience for it.
Metabolic health was exposed as a vulnerability to long-term health by the virus. Early data revealed that those hit the hardest suffered from underlying conditions like insulin resistance, visceral fat, and inflammation.
And instead of relying solely on annual checkups, COVID encouraged many people to track their own biomarkers of health—monitoring sleep, heart rate and continuous glucose.
It became more important to get detailed cholesterol tests, and to measure how fit our hearts and lungs really are. With a large portion of the losses from COVID being caused by severe respiratory failure, breathing well became a matter of longevity.
Understanding these connections changed how we viewed health. Chronic conditions were not just distant threats, but active liabilities to our current well-being. We began recognizing that waiting for a diagnosis before taking action was a flawed strategy, especially when biology could be measured and changed in real time.
By learning to manage these health indicators, we moved from being reactive patients to investing in our own long-term health.
Women played a central role in accelerating this health transformation. Long serving as the primary healthcare decision-makers for their households, many sought out information when official guidance felt like it faltered.
Health podcasts became key educational tools, allowing women to learn about metabolic health, hormone optimization, and preventive care. By bringing these insights to their families and communities, they remade niche scientific concepts into everyday health practices.
The potential of a plague in Siberia isn't something we should ignore, but it could be a new reminder to distinguish between what deserves our attention, what we can actively control, and what we can do to protect our health, regardless of the headlines.
What Not to Worry About
Most health scares do not become global crises. A viral outbreak on a Dutch expedition earlier this year killed three passengers and infected 13 others, and stopped there. Yet, it prompted scary headlines.
In the Siberia case, a research worker died after breaking a test tube, sparking a dark news cycle about a plague. Yet, local authorities reported no wider spread. Bacterial plague spreads differently than COVID, and many responds to antibiotics, making global transmission unlikely.
What to Worry About
The risk of a new plague, especially novel respiratory viruses, is that it spreads easily before symptoms appear. That makes treating it early more difficult.
Researchers at Duke and the University of Padua also analyzed 400 years of outbreak data and estimated the annual probability of a COVID-scale pandemic at roughly 2%. Over decades, those odds accumulate, making another major outbreak possible within our lifetimes.
Hopefully, we’ll be better prepared next time.
The Cost of Worrying
Hypervigilance itself can carry a measurable health cost. Studies following major events show that consumption of news coverage correlates with elevated acute stress. Worry elevates stress hormones, impairs sleep, and weakens the immune system—the very defenses needed during a health crisis.
What We Can Do
While individuals cannot prevent global events, we can build resilience. Basic health practices—regular exercise, metabolic management, consistent sleep, staying current on vaccinations, and staying home when ill—provide effective defense against severe disease.
Living behind the mask of fear or the blinders of complete denial is not the answer either.
Preparing sensibly while focusing on everyday health can allow us to navigate future risks without sacrificing our quality of life.
Medical guidance is essential. However, the ultimate responsibility for our health also rests squarely on our own shoulders.
Livelong is coming to San Francisco! 🌉
We are thrilled to announce that the next Livelong Women’s Health Summit is happening in San Francisco in March 2027. Get your ticket now for the lowest price.
San Francisco, we’ll see you in March 2027!
More details coming soon.
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The information provided about wellness and health is for general informational and educational purposes only. We are not licensed medical professionals, and the content here should not be considered medical advice. Talk to a doctor before trying any of these suggestions.
