I might have placed this in the “Arts and Entertainment” forum, but it’ll get more traction here. The 1980 television adaptation of Ursula K. LeGuin’s 1971 novel The Lathe of Heaven is available on the Tube of You at this link. A globe-girdling plague is not the central element of the plot, but it’s a significant element. For the rest, this is one of the most thoughtful and intelligent “science fiction” tales that has ever been broadcast, and it was produced on a budget closer to what you and I might dig out from the sofa cushions than what might be spent on a day’s catering for the average Hollywood production. Well worth a look if you can spare 105 minutes.

cordially,