COVID-19: why not learn from the past?

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Acknowledgements

Many more references could be cited regarding any one of the issues addressed in this comment. The authors privileged those published in influential, high-impact scientific journals to highlight the visibility of this information and apologize for not citing more studies pertinent to each topic.

Compliance with ethics guidelines

Elena Zocchi and Giuseppe Terrazzano declare that they have no conflict of interest. This comment summarizes data available to the general public either on scientific journals authored by scientists or on websites publishing information from national and international agencies for disease control. Thus, no personal data are being disclosed. In all these publications the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki have been followed.

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