500 years ago, another epidemic swept Mexico: smallpox
Associated Press
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Locals walk past a mural dedicated to Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes, in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Cortes and his men conquered the city of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, in August 1521 after an epidemic of smallpox brought in by the Spaniards ravaged the city. In light of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, it remains unclear how much humanity has learned from one of the greatest mass die-offs due to the smallpox epidemic, which gave rise to the first successful vaccine in 1796. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)A defaced statue of Christopher Columbus stands on Mexico City's Paseo de la Reforma, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes and his men conquered Mexico City, then the city of Tenochtitlan and the capital of the Aztec Empire, in August 1521 after an epidemic of smallpox brought in by the Spaniards ravaged the city. In light of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, it remains unclear how much humanity has learned from one of the greatest mass die-offs due to the smallpox epidemic, which gave rise to the first successful vaccine in 1796. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)Locals walk past a mural dedicated to Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes, in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Cortes and his men conquered the city of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, in August 1521 after an epidemic of smallpox brought in by the Spaniards ravaged the city. In light of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, it remains unclear how much humanity has learned from one of the greatest mass die-offs due to the smallpox epidemic, which gave rise to the first successful vaccine in 1796. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)The Templo Mayor archeological site stands in downtown Mexico City, once the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. In light of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, it remains unclear how much humanity has learned from one of the greatest mass die-offs due to the smallpox epidemic, which gave rise to the first successful vaccine in 1796. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
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Locals walk past a mural dedicated to Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes, in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Cortes and his men conquered the city of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, in August 1521 after an epidemic of smallpox brought in by the Spaniards ravaged the city. In light of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, it remains unclear how much humanity has learned from one of the greatest mass die-offs due to the smallpox epidemic, which gave rise to the first successful vaccine in 1796. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
