Like now, no vaccine existed then, leaving public health authorities to use closures, quarantines, good hygiene, disinfectant and social distancing to fight the spread.
“People in 1918 would have unfortunately been accustomed to diseases and early deaths and things we don’t even think about today with modern medicine, drugs and health care,” Heckman said.
But back then, Americans had strong unity around World War I, were accustomed to sacrifice and held a strong belief in science, said Amy Fairchild, dean of the Ohio State University College of Public Health.
“There was an enormous amount of cooperation with social distancing measures,” Fairchild said. “And I think one of the things that we’re seeing now is, not just not being united, but having a polarized society. That is, I think, a public health risk factor for pandemics, too. When we have a lack of trust in government, we have a lack of trust in science, multiple narratives that float around that can have the same kinds of credibility of being true or not true. That can make a difference as well.”
