In the year 6 CE, a fire devastated Rome.
In response, Emperor Augustus did something that had never been done before in the history of the Empire. He created a permanent team of firefighters who used buckets just like this one.
Augustus understood that individuals alone can't protect themselves from fires. They need help from the community.
When one person's house is on fire, that creates a risk for everyone else's homes.
And so what we've had these last few years is like a horrific global fire.
The COVID pandemic has killed millions and upended economies, and we want to stop that from happening again.
COVID, it's hard to overstate how awful it's been.
It's increased the health inequities between the rich and the poor.
Survival depended partly on your income, your race, the neighborhood you lived in.
And so we should seize this opportunity to create a world where everyone has a chance to live a healthy and productive life.
