"At a time when the citizenry of this country is so politically divided, we can also hope that this threat brings us together in ways that help us to better recognize commonalities: we’re all human, we get sick, and we worry about loved ones. As social creatures, we try to help one another when bad things happen. If that happens, it would be good news that could not have been foreseen before the pandemic."

Robert H. Shmerling, a faculty editor at Harvard Health Publishing, writing last week on the Harvard Health Publishing blog under the headline, “Is there any good news about the coronavirus pandemic?”