In this PowerPoint-driven case study, students compare and contrast poliovirus and its effects with SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19. Before the class meeting, students watch a set of videos and read two research papers. In class, the presentation begins with the story of the author’s grandmother who had polio, which personalizes the fear experienced during a pandemic. Guided by “clicker” questions throughout, students learn about poliovirus, its etiology, transmission, the iron lung, as well as the two types of polio vaccines and how they differ. The second part of the presentation focuses on SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. After learning the basics of this virus and disease, students look at data in two sets of patient cases. The first is about a 50-year-old man in Wuhan, China, who eventually succumbed to the disease; the second concerns the first person-to-person documented case of COVID-19 in China. The presentation concludes with students filling out tables to compare and contrast the two viruses. Originally designed for a second-semester general biology course, the case could also be used in anatomy and physiology, epidemiology, or genetics courses.