Epidemic vs Pandemic! What is the Difference?
On March 11th, 2020, WHO officially changed its designation of COVID-19 from an epidemic to a pandemic.
An epidemic is defined as an outbreak of disease that spreads quickly and affects many individuals at the same time.
A pandemic is a type of epidemic, "an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area
and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population."
While a pandemic may be characterized as a type of epidemic,
you would not say that an epidemic is a type of pandemic.
