On Feb. 28, 2020, commentary appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine that discussed the emergence and rapid increase in cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the challenges of a respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus, and complex challenges to the global public health, research and medical communities. The commentary was provided by federal scientists from NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).