What we can learn from the Spanish Flu

For the video I produced this week, I took a dive into the history of the Spanish Flu pandemic of the early 1900s, and what we can learn and apply today. Unfortunately though, there are also several examples of history repeating itself today with how our government officials have responded to the COVID-19 crisis. Lackadaisical approaches to lockdowns, protests against shutdowns of businesses, and restless citizens taking to the streets at the first opportunity meant more infections and more deaths, a pattern I hope humanity learns from and doesn’t follow again.

Here are the links to the resources I relied on for this video if you’d like to dive into the topic more yourself:

General Spanish Flu info:

https://www.influenzaarchive.org/

New York and Seattle:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/05/04/seattles-leaders-let-scientists-take-the-lead-new-yorks-did-not?utm_source=digg&utm_medium=email

South Dakota:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52311877

California re-opening plan

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-28/california-reopening-plan-stores-schools-first-sports-concerts-last

Spanish Flu second wave

https://www.history.com/news/spanish-flu-second-wave-resurgence

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/three-waves.htm