It would be interesting if it were possible to do a study of those who attended Woodstock and compare them to age matched controls that didn’t attend. Wonder if those that attended have a higher overall mortality rate over the years.
Polk Salad Annie bump
I graduated from high school in 68. I really don’t recall being worried about the Hong Kong flu. I was busy with graduation, going out with friends and working backstage for a community theater group. A friend of mine was at the Chicago convention and told me about the riots. He was a Humphrey volunteer and thought the McCarthy were a bunch of creeps.
So, lifespan was on average 8 years less, but it was a healthier population.
Maybe obesity was lower then because everyone smoked like a coal fired plant.
That might have had something to do with the flu mortality too.
First, the Chinese hid the facts about Covid until it was already spreading around the world. Further, their secrecy AND that they reacted so dramatically, in a panic, building hospitals and welding the doors shut so people couldn't leave their buildings, led to worldwide concerns that this was the ‘mother of all viruses’, and had the capacity to kill millions and millions. (Personally, I see the Chinese government's response to this as a consequence of them knowing that this was a novel virus that had ‘escaped’ their national virology lab). Otherwise, they would have likely treated this like any other coronavirus outbreak - most of which cause a ‘common cold’. They were doing gain of function research in Wuhan, and were afraid this virus had the capacity to be a ‘super pathogen’).
Second, though the majority of people who get sick enough to die of coronavirus are older people, many with pre-existing co-morbidities, this isn't the case for all those who have died. It is this arbitrary nature of Covid infections that also led to marked concern in the medical community and the populace. Twenty and thirty year olds without pre-existing conditions have died of Covid (I can personally attest to this). Why this happens to a small percentage of people, but doesn't in the majority of people, is currently unknown. As a new/novel virus, the ‘unknown’ factor affects how people think of this pandemic. They are worried that for whatever reason, they will be one of the unlucky ones - and will die, no matter how low the odds. The media has perpetuated this fear, as have many politicians and some medical professionals.
Third, this virus does some ‘funky’ things - such as promoting thrombosis. People are presenting with pulmonary emboli, stroke, and myocardial infarctions. Of course, this happens routinely in the absence of Covid, but there is something different about these Covid patients. They often present with the typical Covid symptoms, and then as the infection progresses they develop these thrombotic complications. Lots of hospitals have been prescribing anticoagulants for Covid patients, and discharging the survivors on anticoagulants. These poorly understood aspects of Covid, and the severity of hypoxia and lung involvement in those who wind up with advanced viral pneumonitis and/or ARDS have added to fears about Covid.
Fourth, overestimation of mortality rate. Covid appears to be highly contagious/infectious. As the antibody data are now suggesting, the number of people infected with Covid (including asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic people) is probably markedly higher than what the PCR testing-based data have suggested. This obviously makes the denominator of the mortality calculations much higher - and thus the mortality rate much lower. There were some early data suggesting the rate was 10% or greater - and this also led to the fears and concerns.
Fifth, and very important, is that too many politicians see this pandemic as a political opportunity. The amount of political posturing around Covid is disgusting.
Anyway, my long-winded morning FR comments.
I was honestly at Woodstock, 17 yrs. old and new to the “culture”. Good experience, great music live and later on vinyl and DVD. Was straight the whole wknd and don’t recall getting the flu then or after. I do recall the rain and mud. Only made it to Sat nite.
This article seems like a waste of words to criticize a then seminal event. Give me an “F”
We had gone on vacation in Rhode Island that year and got caught up in the massive traffic jam on the way back. We had no idea what had happened until we heard news reports on the radio after the jam had cleared up.