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The terrorist attacks against the USA on September 11th 2001 were preceived as aggressions aimed at national morale. Epidemiological studies centering on the effects produced by the fact of having been exposed to the traumatic events through televised images established their containing a threat for public health. Preventative measures were then put into place. They included an enhanced pharmacological plan helping to reinforce resistance to traumatic events. This paper explores the social origins and implications of these epidemiological facts in the case of mass traumatisms.