Having an important place in the treatment of smallpox found about 14 years ago, Larry Brilliant talked about a larger epidemic awaiting us in the past TED speech and what it looks like. In these days when we are struggling with coronavirus, the sentences that Brilliant says are not very heartwarming: “1 billion people will get sick. Approximately 165 million people will lose their eyes on life. There will be an economic crisis and market stagnation that will cause great damage to our economy. This crisis will have unimaginable consequences like the death of more than 100 million people who lost their jobs and health insurance.” If we look at the effects of the coronavirus right now, we are far from the death numbers that Brilliant talked about, but our world is reversed. Brilliant, who previously collaborated with the World Health Organization in ending smallpox, is now 75 years old. Brilliant described the coronavirus as the most dangerous epidemic: Stating that the most dangerous epidemic he saw during an interview was coronavirus, Brilliant emphasized that he was afraid of the virus in which he was in the risk group and that even those who were not afraid did not care enough. Speaking about the measures taken and the recommendations made, Brilliant underlined that these are necessary but that it is late and that the measures taken at the moment will not completely protect us. Stating that the vaccine will not be available before 12 months, the expert answered the question of when we can return to normal life as follows; ‘If we were in a tennis game right now, I would say the advantage is the virus, but good news from South Korea is coming. China’s policy towards the virus is a bit difficult to follow, we are not going to close people to their apartments. However, the route followed by South Korea may be one of the ways to follow. They are doing enough tests. ‘ For Brilliant, which would be wrong to remember only with smallpox, it can also be called a successful epidemiologist who struggles with diseases such as flu, polio, blindness as well as smallpox. Brilliant also played an important role in making the horror movie called Salgın, giving the producers information about the subject and reflecting the facts better.
