Do you see any similarities between the 1957-58 flus pandemic and covid?
I was not even aware of the 57–58 pandemic until I heard about it today. As is my habit, I promptly looked it up. I was shocked to learn that the pandemic killed between 1 and 4 million people worldwide. The odd thing is that a vaccine against the virus was developed in 2.5 months! Yet we did not hear about that all through the covid panic. Was it intentional? We may never know.
In the US, the flu was relatively muted, killing just over 100,000 people. Yet, the vaccine was developed in the US. As far as I can tell, the reaction to the pandemic in the US was non-existent except for vaccine development. Does that ring a bell?
I am certain that my question reveals my lack of knowledge of US history. I am just curious how many posters knew the details about the 1957–58 pandemic and the commonalities between that and covid:
1. Both pandemics started in China.
2. In 1957 China was not a member of WHO and did not tell anybody about the flu.
3. In the case of COVID, the Chinese were obliged to tell WHO. But they imparted the minimum info necessary.
4. In both cases, a vaccine was developed and deployed in record time. Surprisingly, the process took less time in 1957.
Were there any other similarities? Or stark differences?
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No. Thanks for sharing. Look up black plague, if you are interested. Around 13th century in England. Very creepy.
So your point is . . . . ?
Don’t tell Trump had the election stolen
Family doctor didn’t know if I would survive 104.5* F fever !
The open meat markets and consumption of exotic animals in China are a natural breeding house for new viral horrors. So its not so strange to get a new virus from there every few decades. Same applies to Africa. Add the new global interaction and logistics and it gets worse every time. Its no conspiracy. The truth is a lot simpler. Its more about human stupidity.
I read about but did not recall any effect – but I would have been very young.
I asked everyone I knew over 75 (about 20 people) if they remembered this or noticed it and only 1 person did. He was in the hospital for something and his parents could not visit him.
But mostly the reaction was “there was a pandemic?”
The news coverage was very different. People were not constantly bombarded with people saying it didn’t exist and others saying it was real and trying to keep it under control.
This pandemic would be over quickly if everyone just did what needed to be done. Theoretically It could have been stopped in 2 weeks. It is the few holdouts that spread it around and keep it in circulation.
I think flu vaccines started in the 40’s. We don’t usually test adding new strains I don’t think, so it is very fast. Every year now we change what strains are in the vaccine. We watch what strains are in Asia and are starting to move, and grow those strains for our coming flu season in the USA. Remember H1N1 in 2009, that vaccine was made very quickly.
In the 70’s there was a big scare about a new flu and then that vaccine got a lot of reporting about it causing GBS. The last few months the 60 Minutes report of the people who developed GBS from that vaccine has been circulating by the anti-vax crowd.
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