ABSTRACT
Humanity has frequently experienced pandemics. A pandemic requires humanity to fight an invisible enemy, which necessitates unity to cope beyond communities due to the spread of infection that exceeds boundaries. A public health policy against a pandemic is contradictory for human society because infectious diseases necessitate people to isolate themselves from one another to prevent affection on the one hand and to help one another in struggling with such diseases on the other hand. How can this contradiction between isolation and cooperation be resolved? Wearing face masks may be a solution to this question. However, they are a relatively new invention. Based on epidemiology, this chapter focuses on the social aspects of the emerging modern public health policy. Epidemiology is a natural science; however, implementing epidemiological knowledge could be highly political. The chapter serves as a case study of Hungary in its implementation of preventive policies for the public against the infectious disease called the Spanish flu, which occurred about 100 years ago.
