Epidemiologists, biologists and chief medical officers spent all of January and February 2020 trying desperately to get people to listen. Then, we did. A thread on all the ways we are different from the 1918 pandemic.
First, let's consider the role of public health, provincial medical officers, nurses, doctors, even scientific understanding of the difference between viral and bacterial infections. Most communities were not well-served in any of these capacities.
In part, the war sucked up medical personnel. At home, being sick or needing care was still mostly done within the home. Cottage hospitals or doctor's personal houses filled gaps.
Our knowledge of virology and epidemiology was, in 1918, pretty lacking. There was nothing comparable to the CDC, the WHO or any true international organizations serving health needs, other than the Red Cross -- who were focused on the war.
Second, communication. In 1918, the most common fast communication worldwide was by telegraph, which (compared to today), would feel like the pony express. Letters and newspapers recorded and shared news that was some days old.
Think of a news event in 1918 like a stone tossed in a pond. Those close see it drop, feel its immediate impact. The further away you are, the longer it took those ripples to hit you.
Today, we know almost up to the minute, breaking information about the pandemic. We can watch news briefs, see numbers scrolling across the screen, read specific stories in real time.
In Saskatchewan, we didn't really know about or understand the first wave of the flu in spring 1918. It was the "three day fever" which triggered some death, but not the holy hell that was to come. It was described as a particularly bad "grippe," and pharmacies sold snake oil.
Canada, and SK, reacted to the *second* wave, which arrived in late September and set off a firestorm of death. The papers went from describing something nasty happening in an army base near Boston to a pandemic which swept across Canada like a fall blizzard.
Towns erupted, people dropped and died. By October, it was clear that this was no ordinary grippe, but a killer of massive proportions. By mid October, schools, churches and businesses closed. And the flu kept killing.
It ramped up, in part because people, after 4 years of war and privations, wanted to celebrate the war's end -- as a result, November 1918 saw our largest Sk provincial death count, with over 3000 people.
So I've been wondering a few things, watching our current pandemic, with one eye cast to history. What are the larger lessons that we miss, when comparing the two events?
1. We caught this one, paid attention to it, studied it and are cracking its secrets, much earlier.
2. This one is *either* less virulent than the last major pandemic, or, because we are paying attention earlier, we are tracking its first wave which as in 1918, was far less deadly than the second wave. Time will answer this question.
3. The role of major, respected international leadership, expertise and science will make a difference. We have a higher social understanding of germs, and new vocabulary like physical distancing, across the whole world.
4. No one knows the numbers for sure from the 1918 flu, as it was poorly tracked in affluent countries and not tracked at all in others. Estimates ranged from 20 to 100 million deaths, and the most common number is 50 million. This time, we know deaths by country, by day.
(Yes, those aren't perfect or accurate either. I know. But they are better than 102 years ago).
5. We have drug capabilities, investigation, antiviral therapy and bacteria-killing drugs for secondary infections that we did not have in 1918. We have oxygen, ventilators, and other devices. Some have central heating, fewer chores, and indoor plumbing. This matters.
6. We can already see the #covid19 is not a social leveler, but will hit some socioeconomic regions and people harder than others. This will be the saddest aspect of the pandemic, to showcase the remaining holes and gaps in our medical systems.
7. One of the biggest results of the 1918 pandemic was its immediate impact on issues like better hospitals, training, public health, health as a public good, and research. And, I think, some of the same will happen again. #pandemiceffect
Others might be increased isolationism which promotes populism, bankruptcies, changes in tourism regionally and worldwide, and changes in sociocultural norms. Bowing instead of handshakes? We shall see.
What do you see as #pandemiceffects?
You can follow @merlemassie.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: