Megan Hutchinson
Staff Reporter
One hundred and three years ago, the Spanish Flu impacted the world. Two years ago, COVID- 19 impacted the world. The parallels between COVID- 19 and the Spanish flu are beyond strong. According to the Center of Disease Control, COVID- 19 has killed 4.5 million, the Spanish flu killed 50 million. Currently, the United States has surpassed 670,000 deaths from COVID- 19, making it the deadliest pandemic in U.S. history. According to John Hopkins Hospital, “As of Sept. 20, more than 228 million people have been infected with COVID-19 worldwide, More than 4.6 million have died across the globe”.
In 1918, the first Spanish Flu cases were reported in March at Camp Funston, Kansas. Because of the lack of testing and capabilities, the disease spread quickly and easily. However, the movement of the military during World War I aided the spread.
In 2019, the first COVID- 19 case was reported in January, after a man traveled from Washington State to Wuhan, China, where the novel coronavirus was believed to originate from. The extremely contagious disease quickly and easily spread, aided by travel.
During the Spanish Flu, the most precaution that could be taken was social mitigation. The flu vaccination was not developed until the late 1940s. Health officials of the time, however, discovered handwashing, mask-wearing, and social distancing slowed the spread. In 1918, many masks were created with cheesecloth or gauze, attached with tape or elastic. Cities that had embraced the precautions had fewer deaths, similar to today.
In October of 1918, San Francisco was the first U.S city to place a mandate on mask-wearing and social distancing. Those who did not follow were fined and even imprisoned. The original mandate was in place for four weeks and reinstituted in January when cases began to spike. The Anti- Mask League was formed out of rebellion against the mask and social distancing mandate. The group had viewed the mandates as unconstitutional and strained their individual liberties.
Similar to today, there are many who disagree with the mask and social distancing mandates. However, those same mandates are scientifically proven to reduce the spread of COVID- 19. According to ABC News, “During the current pandemic, many parts of the U.S. never shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus. For example, South Dakota welcomed hundreds of thousands of people for a 10-day biker rally in Sturgis.” Precautions are put in place for a specific reason and for the protection of others.
The ideological battle continues to rage across the world over vaccination and mask mandates. Many experts view this pandemic as a preventable tragedy; the current pandemic is far from over.
Image Credit: Bettmann/Getty Images
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