Covid-19 death toll equals and will likely exceed the 1918-1919 flu pandemic

[shunyadragon]

Is this really a surprise given that world population was roughly 1.6 to 1.8 billion then as opposed to just under 8 billion today?

Yea, the population is higher in the USA than in 1918=1919, but not 8 billion today, which is more like the world population, Actually in some regions of the world like Africa and India the cases and fatalities of the 1918-1919 pandemic still far exceed the COVID-19 pandemic. In Africa whole villages were wiped out, and actually the total count of fatalities were never accurated counter. Worldwide it may be as high as more than 50 million. The article addresses the USA only.

Also the current COVID-19 is not going away as it happened suddenly in the 1918-1919 pandemic, which more a characteristic of flu season pandemics.

[shunyadragon]

Are we now afraid to call it the Spanish Flu? More historical revisionism?

Covid-19 overtakes 1918 Spanish flu as deadliest disease in American history

Inside the Swift, Deadly History of the Spanish Flu Pandemic

The 1918 'Spanish' flu: pearls from swine? | Nature Medicine

I belief calling it the Spanish Flu Pandemic is a misnomer, because the 1918-1919 flu pandemic actually originated among US troops in the Mid-West beginning in 1917.
This source states that it began in the spring of 1918 in a Kansas military base, but I believe there was a first outbreak among US troops in 1917. I hae to research the source. It was called the Spanish Flu early because of the high infection and death rate among Spanish troops in WWI

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/1918-pandemic-history.htm

History of 1918 Flu Pandemic

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The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. Although there is not universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, it spread worldwide during 1918-1919. In the United States, it was first identified in military personnel in spring 1918.

It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States. Mortality was high in people younger than 5 years old, 20-40 years old, and 65 years and older. The high mortality in healthy people, including those in the 20-40 year age group, was a unique feature of this pandemic.

While the 1918 H1N1 virus has been synthesized and evaluated, the properties that made it so devastating are not well understood. With no vaccine to protect against influenza infection and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections that can be associated with influenza infections, control efforts worldwide were limited to non-pharmaceutical interventions such as isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants, and limitations of public gatherings, which were applied unevenly.

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[rogue06]

Is this really a surprise given that world population was roughly 1.6 to 1.8 billion then as opposed to just under 8 billion today?

[Cow Poke]

Are we now afraid to call it the Spanish Flu? More historical revisionism?

Covid-19 overtakes 1918 Spanish flu as deadliest disease in American history

Inside the Swift, Deadly History of the Spanish Flu Pandemic

The 1918 'Spanish' flu: pearls from swine? | Nature Medicine

[shunyadragon]

In an early thread concerning the Covid-19 pandemic I proposed the possibility that Covid-19 may hang around for years and possibly may become endemic to the human population like some other viruses. The problem appears that COVID-19 may not have as much a seasonal nature as other viruses. Fortunately the vvaccines are very effects. Unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic still rages among the unvaccinated' particularly in the Southern states.

During the 1918-19 flu pandemic masks and social distancing were found to reduce impact of the pandemic. Philadelphia refused to stop a parade despite warnings from medical officials, and in the flu raged there with high fatalities more than some other cities.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/20/covid-19-death-toll-1918-flu-pandemic

Covid-19 has now killed as many Americans as the 1918-19 flu pandemic


More than 1,900 people are dying in the US daily on average – the highest level since early March


Soldiers at Camp Funston in Kansas recover from the influenza pandemic in 1918. Photograph: Us Army/ReutersAssociated PressMon 20 Sep 2021 22.11 EDT Covid-19 has now killed as many Americans as the 1918-19 flu pandemic – more than 675,000.

The US population a century ago was just one-third of what it is today, meaning the flu cut a much bigger, more lethal swath through the country. But the Covid-19 crisis is by any measure a colossal tragedy in its own right, especially given the incredible advances in scientific knowledge since then and the failure to take maximum advantage of the vaccines available this time.



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“Big pockets of American society – and, worse, their leaders – have thrown this away,” said Dr Howard Markel a medical historian at the University of Michigan.

Like the 1918-19 flu, the coronavirus may never entirely disappear from our midst. Instead, scientists hope it becomes a mild seasonal bug as human immunity strengthens through vaccination and repeated infection. That could take time. Everett/REX/Shutterstock
“We hope it will be like getting a cold, but there’s no guarantee,” said Rustom Antia, a biologist at Emory University, who suggests an optimistic scenario in which this could happen over a few years.

For now, the pandemic still has the United States and other parts of the world firmly in its jaws.

While the Delta variant-fueled surge in infections may have peaked, US deaths are more than 1,900 a day on average – the highest level since early March – and the country’s overall toll topped 675,000 Monday, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University, though the real number is believed to be higher.

Winter may bring a new surge, with the University of Washington’s influential model projecting an additional 100,000 or so Americans will die of Covid-19 by 1 January, which would bring the overall US toll to 776,000.

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