Epidemic mask

From epidemic masks that the company introduced during the Spanish flu pandemic to work it’s doing today on an investigational COVID-19 vaccine, learn how the company has been at the forefront of safeguarding global public health for well over a century.

When Melissa Surdez received an urgent call from her physician sister who was battling the pandemic on the front lines in New Jersey and facing a mask shortage, she promised to help—and tapped Johnson & Johnson’s thousands of employees to join her cause.

When it struck, the 1918 flu pandemic—one of the deadliest outbreaks on record—killed up to 50 million. As flu season begins, we look at how far we’ve come in fighting the viral infection, including promising work being done on a universal vaccine.

Johnson & Johnson has been in the innovation business for more than 130 years. Check out these first-of-their-kind company products, which have revolutionized flu protection and even changed the way we wear contact lenses.