The U.S. is facing a serious pandemic with Covid-19 for the first time in 100 years, as new cases rise rapidly. What’s disturbing is how similar our situation is to one of the deadliest diseases in human history, the Spanish Flu. Even with this history to drawback on, America still isn’t taking it seriously, perhaps, because history sometimes likes to repeat itself.
Spanish Flu
The most devastating of all pandemics in human history other than the Bubonic plague, the Spanish flu took 10% of the world’s population, and of that 10% were roughly 675,000 Americans.
“Officials in some communities imposed quarantines, ordered citizens to wear masks and shut down public places, including schools, churches and theaters.” according to history.com. This is the case with many pandemic level outbreaks. During this time was also the first use of the quarantine system. It has been 100 years since we have had to implement it on this scale again.
People are not happy with being shut in, especially by an entity who is supposed to let its citizens have “freedom.” There were three spikes during the Spanish flu during summer, fall and winter of 1918.
“Historians now believe that the fatal severity of the Spanish flu’s ‘second wave’ was caused by a mutated virus spread by wartime troop movements.” wrote Dave Roose, a writer for history.com. Viruses tend to mutate, and extra exposure and changing bodies help it do so. With loosening restrictions and exposure after months indoors, we could see some devastating mutations.
Similarities
The key to containing any disease, according to Jeremy M. Berg, Ph.D in an article with nhi.gov, is containment speed and awareness. Unlike the late warnings given to the world by China about COVID-19, people in 1918 were able to lock down quickly when this began spreading to the US.
“Introducing public health measures soon after the first cases appear could greatly reduce the number of people who get sick,” said Jeremy. But just like COVID-19, people were not too keen to be told what to do.
Humans have a tendency to repeat history, and just like back then, today, people protested against being locked in and locked down. There were similar protests that occurred during the Spanish flu as well since this was the first implementation of quarantine. Just like in 1918 there will be a spike of new cases after large congregations.
“On Dec 19, officials voted down a mandatory mask order, by far the worst day of flu/pneumonia deaths followed on Dec 30.” Tweeted Tim Mak, an NPR investigative correspondent. Tim has been doing extensive digging into articles, news clippings and government records to gather this information about Spanish flu protests.
Just like today there were protests against mandatory orders such as masks and business closure. The most relevant being the “Anti-Mask League” in San Francisco. According to an article from 1919 4,000–5,000 citizens attended a meeting on January 25 to protest mandatory masks. Though no solid numbers can be found, one can only guess the outcome.
Many believe that the protests today were organized by the national tea party movement according to NPR. Even so we all need to stay cognizant and understand that a virus doesn’t care what party you are fighting for or if you have a job or not. Staying at home has slowed the spread significantly according to the CDC, but has spiked around April 5th by 63,000 new cases.
Differences
The largest difference between Spanish Flu and COVID-19 is that the first came right after WWI ended. This left many communities without available care because many doctors were drafted or dead. Food, working men, and everyday life was upended because of this. Not to mention that the disease was able to spread due to troops returning home. The war and the flu were able to wipe out roughly two thirds the world’s population within 5 years.
Medical
Another difference is the types of medicine we have available today. Even with the most severe cases we have the ability to keep someone alive to fight through their symptoms. Respirators, antibiotics, a sterile working environment and sheer knowledge give us an incredible advantage since the last pandemic.
Even with all this though many hospitals at the start didn’t have enough equipment. Stores ran out of face masks and respirators within days without hope of restock. People today panicked and rushed to get supplies when they learned that this was more than just another flu. According to the LA Times however, during the Spanish flu people were already accustomed to their pandemic.
Travel
Unlike today the airplane was just invented and not used for commercial purposes. We have the ability to get across the world in a little less than a day, they took weeks or even months to get from one continent to the other. Most people were still using trains or boats for major transport needs, not to mention the expense. The biggest reason the Spanish flu hit so hard is because of troops returning home from the war, spreading a new strand of the disease.
“The first quarantines in the region were enacted in September 1918 at the Naval Reserve Station at Los Angeles Harbor and the U.S. Army Balloon School in Arcadia,” Wrote Gustavo Arellano of the LA times. Some of the first sites quarantined were naval bases or military outposts with returned soldiers.
The End?
Just like the Spanish Flu, Coronavirus will pass and it will be business as usual. Even when this will start to look better it doesn’t mean you can let your guard down. According to the CDC there will be spikes following looser restrictions, and we might not see the end for a while. Wear the mask a bit longer, wash your hands regularly, try to stay home if you are feeling ill. When the government lifts restrictions it is up to the citizens to stay vigilant and enact what we have learned. This isn’t the first and it won’t be the last pandemic humanity will have to deal with, but hopefully we will learn.
