A 5-Minute History of the 1918 Pandemic
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TOPIC CONTEXT
Most weeks our team consolidates data from the left, right, and center to help you get answers to pivotal policy questions. In light of the COVID-19 outbreak - we are breaking out of our typical format to create a data hub for the latest updates on COVID-19.
KEY SOURCES
U.S. Center for Disease Control
World Health Organization
KEY THEMES
Health
Politics
We are breaking out of our traditional article format to deliver the data you need to contextualize the COVID-19 outbreak, which has impacted communities across the world.
Today, we're giving you the research behind the 1918 Pandemic.
A word of caution:
It is tempting to compare previous pandemics with the current COVID-19 outbreak. However, that is not the intention of this article for several reasons including:
Times Have Changed: If you attempt to compare COVID-19 to the 1918 Influenza, you will be comparing our modern healthcare system to a system where modern vaccines did not exist and the majority of healthcare workers were supporting military efforts in World War I.
Data is Moving Quickly: Accurate information on COVID-19 cases and mortality rates are largely dependent on availability of testing, testing criteria, etc. This means you'd be comparing a moving target to 100 year old data.
With that said, let's dive in...
The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. CDC
World War I was underway when the virus emerged and the wartime conditions (overcrowding and global troop movement) helped the 1918 flu spread. CDC
Healthy adults 15 to 34 years of age experienced some of the highest death rates, which was an unusual characteristic of the virus. CDC
The average life expectancy in the United States was lowered by more than 12 years as a result of the pandemic. CDC
In the United States, the flu was first identified in military personnel in spring 1918, approximately six months before WWI ended. CDC
The outbreak came in three waves in the Spring, Fall, and Winter of 1918 through the Spring of 1919. The second wave (between September and November) is highly fatal, and responsible for most of the deaths attributed to the pandemic. CDC
There was no vaccine to protect against influenza infection and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections.
Local governments took action in several ways:
New York City’s Board of Health required all flu cases to be isolated at home or in a city hospital.
Chicago, along with many other cities, closed theaters, movie houses and night schools and prohibited public gatherings.
San Francisco’s Board of Health issued a strong recommendation to all residents to wear masks in public.
Salt Lake City officials placed quarantine signs on front and rear doors of 2,000 homes where occupants had been struck with the flu.
The pandemic ended in the summer of 1919. With no vaccine available, the slowing of infections was mostly due to deaths among vulnerable individuals and higher immunity levels among the remaining population.
One-third of the world’s population or an estimated 500 million people became infected with this virus.
The term the "Spanish Flu" is a misnomer. There was actually nothing “Spanish” about it. While it had already taken a big toll in France and the USA, it was not made public in those countries because of WWI wartime censorship. When the disease surfaced in Spain, which was neutral during the war, the country had no censorship in place and so made the first public reports of the pandemic. The name "Spanish Flu" stuck. WHO