In 2009 there was the swine flu pandemic, with anywhere from 150,000 to 575,000 fatalities. Since it was influenza, it was quite contagious, with an R0 of 1.2 to 1.6. And the world’s medical institutions quickly responded, and in less than a year there were 100 million vaccines available. Click on the graphic below to see more clearly how the world responded.

The R0 for COVID-19 seems to be slightly higher, from 1.4 to 2.5. Still, they are pretty close. Hopefully the WHO and CDC manage to come up with a vaccine quickly for this.