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As a 1918 flu scholar, I think it& #39;s insanely important to point out (now esp. given Dr. Fauci& #39;s statement today about "back to normal" by the end of 2021) ...
It& #39;s not going to be the same "normal" we left 6 months ago. (1/)
@AcademicChatter #AcademicTwitter
It& #39;s not going to be the same "normal" we left 6 months ago. (1/)
@AcademicChatter #AcademicTwitter
The 1918 influenza pandemic lasted for 3 distinct waves over about 2 years, and the world was literally never the same again (2/)
The Black Plague lasted for about 3 years, but there were serious breakouts of plague for hundreds of years afterwards. (3/)
That is to say, massive disease/mortality events like this are things that happen. They are best abated by non-pharmaceutical interventions (bc they mostly didn& #39;t exist til recently).
They also fundamentally changed culture. Permanently. (4/)
They also fundamentally changed culture. Permanently. (4/)
I cannot promise you that the New Normal will be better, but I also can& #39;t say it will be worse. I can promise you that it will be different.
And we will be okay.
El fin.
(5/5)
And we will be okay.
El fin.
(5/5)
For those wanting specifics:
Black Plague:
1. Severe demographic disruption = evo of reproductive/family strategies
2. Economic disruption rendered system obsolete, rebuilt from scratch
3. People were desperate for God = foundation for Protestant Reformation
Black Plague:
1. Severe demographic disruption = evo of reproductive/family strategies
2. Economic disruption rendered system obsolete, rebuilt from scratch
3. People were desperate for God = foundation for Protestant Reformation
4. Has been linked to abandonment of Latin in favor of English and French instead
5. Tones of despair in art stem from almost precisely mid-14th century; death imagery, tombs, skeletons mixing w/living people
5. Tones of despair in art stem from almost precisely mid-14th century; death imagery, tombs, skeletons mixing w/living people
Consequences of 1918 flu:
1. Birth and meteoric rise of the field of virology = revolutionizing our understanding of microscopic world
2. Similar to Black Plague, death of primarily reproductive-aged ppl = evo of family strategies
1. Birth and meteoric rise of the field of virology = revolutionizing our understanding of microscopic world
2. Similar to Black Plague, death of primarily reproductive-aged ppl = evo of family strategies
3. Drastic reduction in morbidity through mortality of other dangerous/prolific diseases like tuberculosis = increasing population health and biomedical advancement in some Western countries
(though relationship btw morbid/mort is complicated, my demog friends know)
(though relationship btw morbid/mort is complicated, my demog friends know)
