Posted on 05/03/2020 6:50:16 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
In order to analyze the development and mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic, we naturally look back to the most prominent global pandemic of modern times: the Spanish flu of 1918. The virus wreaked havoc around the world a century ago, leaving tens of millions of dead bodies in its wake, including more than half a million Americans at a time when our population was less than a third of today’s level.
While it is reasonable to acknowledge the broad fact that even more lives would have been lost had it not been for social distancing interventions in 1918, as we now consider how to lift similar restrictions currently imposed, we need a more nuanced understanding of when, where, and how social distancing prevailed a century ago, as well as when, where, and how it did not.
Based upon data of the Spanish flu pandemic, general consensus has emerged around a strong correlation between proactive measures and a lower death toll; the contrast between Philadelphia and St. Louis in 1918 has become ubiquitous. First referenced in an academic journal some 13 years ago, it has been featured regularly in analyses and articles over the past 2 months as a lesson on how American society should treat a pandemic.
The story goes like this:
Philadelphia (at the time the third largest city in America behind only New York and Chicago) downplayed the severity of the Spanish flu and went ahead with a World War I victory parade (really part of a public relations campaign supporting a war-bond drive) and gathered over 200,000 people at the end of September. Within a week, 2,600 people had died and city hospitals were overflowing. By the time the city reacted and started closing down public gatherings, which lasted for 4-5 weeks, it was already too late
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
President Trump was always right even if it is not PC: Corona was a hoax! The virus is real but the crisis reaction was all power play.
Out of a nation of over 300 million. Very small level of deaths considering the population now and the population in 1918. If you are scared, stay home.
True. The nation is now being run by the ‘health’ experts who have no concern about the economy or Constitution.
Smaller percentage maybe. But my point is that we’ve already got 10% as many deaths as the spanish flu produced and that’s in just the first two months of the pandemic. The Spanish flu lasted two years. This could be longer. At this rate the death toll would surpass the death toll in the spanish flu pandemic if this pandemic lasts two years.
And we’ve gone to a lot more effort to stop this pandemic than they did to stop the spanish flu. Possibly if we had not then the death toll would be greater than it is.
For the Wuhan virus to have the same impact as the Spanish flu, the death toll in the US would have to be in the neighborhood of 2 million.
You have no idea what you are talking about. We aren’t near the Spanish Flu numbers, nor near the numbers that they said would occur if ‘we did everything exactly right’. You don’t destroy a nation over this and ignore the Constitution.
I’m not suggesting we should destroy the nation. I’m just pointing out the obvious. This pandemic is not over and we don’t know how many are going to die.
...and if my Granny had wheels she'd be a motorcycle. Is it your belief that this is valuable insight you're providing?
It's scare mongering, pure and simple. We've had more than enough.
A lot less have died then we thought and even the numbers we had before appear to be phony. So, like every other virus, we continue with our lives, not hide out in our homes.
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