Pandemics: 1918 flu is false, overblown comparison

“Lessons from 1918 flu are going unheeded,” (TNT, 5/17).

The first thing columnist Ann McFeatters does is compare coronavirus to the 1918 flu, citing statistics of 50 million deaths worldwide including 675,000 in the United States.

Current predictions by today’s experts claim 143,357. There are currently 86,300 deaths, nothing close to the toll in 1918.

She then recites stories about what happened back then and claims the current response has been similar: politicians lied, cases were underreported, no national quarantine, the military overrun by the virus, fake treatments.

According to NCBI, in 1918 the Navy recorded 5,027 deaths and more than 106,000 hospital admissions for influenza. The flu sickened more than one million men and killed almost 30,000 before they got to France.

Hardly the equivalent of one aircraft carrier crew.

McFeatters claims the medical system was overwhelmed by coronavirus. The fact is, not one patient was treated in the temporary hospitals in Seattle. The Navy hospital ship and overflow hospitals in New York City treated a fraction of available beds.

It’s time to stop the panic, stop emphasizing lockdowns and start addressing the need to protect people who are most at risk.

This story was originally published May 26, 2020 at 10:28 AM with the headline "Pandemics: 1918 flu is false, overblown comparison."