My grandparents talked about their parents, one of each, who died of the “Spanish” Flu in 1918.
Although more deadly (it is thought) than COVID 19, it acted faster. If a rural community could “shut in” (they didn’t say lock down back then) for two weeks or so it would likely pass. Cities, of course had more problems.
When the flu finally hit their tiny rural community on the Arkansas River it killed several of the men within a couple of days, including my great grandfather. My grandfather got sick, but recovered and my grandmother never got sick. With that bug, if you survived the first 48 hours then you would likely survive the illness.
COVID 19, with it’s slow action and asymptomatic transmission is, in may ways, worse than 1918.
P.S. It probably should have been called the “Kansas Flu” as it almost certainly originated in Kansas and was taken to Europe on American troop ships bound for the “Great War”. Since Spain was not a combatant, the newspapers could cover the pandemic without censor and that’s how the public found out about it.
I read a little about polio this morning. It raged in 1952 when I was 7 and caused fear and panic, part of which I felt. The vaccine was 1955, I think; I was 10 and remember the sugar cube clearly. There was a booster (a shot?) later also.
My family had friends who were disabled by polio but I only heard about the fear of the iron lung. I was born, thankfully, after the vaccine. I remember that I was happy about the sugar cube because it wasn’t a “shot”. I think we got a “D.P.T.” booster shot later. I think “D.P.T.” meant diphtheria, polio, and tetanus.
How did we possibly survive all those vaccines? We should all be dead according to RFK Jr. and Jenny McCarthy. Also, if there ever is a COVID 19 vaccine, those two can’t get one until everyone else does.
Hardly anyone gets polio anymore because of the vaccine. Smallpox has been eradicated 100% because of the vaccine. I guess they just gloss over those parts.
Right now, the anti-maskers are endangering everyone with the ignorance and callousness. Once the vaccine is out and widely distributed, I will care a lot less about people being cavalier with their own health, because they won’t be able to pass it on to sensible folk.
I had to get a tetanus shot last week. It wasn’t bad at all. I also had to some lovenox shots to my belly, which wasn’t bad either. Perhaps the sting of a shot was over-saturated by the fuck-ton of pain coming from my arm and leg at the time.
i guess I am the last of the ones who had measels, mumps, whoopsing cough, chicken pox. played barefooted outside all summer… but did not walk to school in snow.
I had chicken pox, mumps and scarlet fever as a child. I didn’t have whooping cough, as far as I know. I had shingles as an adult and that was miserable.
I did not have whooping cough or scarlet fever, but I had chicken pox, measles, and mumps, plus pretty bad asthma attacks until 13 or so and nephritis, a kidney disease which caused me to miss Jan-May of the first grade.
