In 2011, The Center for Disease Control put out a pamphlet “Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse”. While most people applauded the CDC’s efforts to make disaster preparedness accessible, some expressed outrage. “Don’t you have something better to do with your time?” one anonymous poster fumed. “The American taxpayer is PAYING YOU to put this nonsense on the net.”

 But is it nonsense? Not if you consider the modern-day zombie. There is a lot of debate on when the modern zombie emerged. For me, it was Max Brooks’ 2006 novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. And what makes the modern-day zombie different? Zombie-ism is a virus spread through physical contact (often in the form of a bite). Ironically, ‘The Walking Plague’ in World War Z started in the same place coronavirus did: China. And it spread with the same swiftness. As Mira Grant noted in another zombie story, You Can Stay All Day, ‘The Walking Plague’ spreads like any other disease:

“One was bad; two was worse; four was a disaster. The numbers kept climbing from there, until she reached the point where the dead outnumbered the living, and there was nothing left to do but die.”

So what does the Center for Disease Control advise people to do during the zombie apocalypse? You should have an emergency kit in your house. “This includes things like water, medicine, food, and other supplies to get you through the first couple of days.” You should also limit your time outdoors. “Zombies would take over entire countries, roaming city streets and eating anything living that got in their way.”

The best way not to become a zombie?

Don’t get bitten!

And while people sheltered-in-place, the CDC would spring into action, determining “the cause of the illness, the source of the infection/virus/toxin, learn how it is transmitted and how readily it is spread” all to “identify the cause and cure of the zombie outbreak.”

 Just like they did with coronavirus

 Another strange case of life imitating art...