Waltham Public Library - VIRTUAL 1918 Spanish Flu: The Pandemic Before This One

Before the 2020 Covid Pandemic, there was the 1918 Spanish Flu. The 1918 flu killed millions worldwide and lasted over a year. Then, as now, preventive measures such as shutting down businesses, schools, and large events, as well as requiring people to wear masks were deployed. Medical treatments looked less similar and included such bizarre approaches as using whiskey and blood-letting. The highest death toll occurred during a second wave of the virus, more severe than the first and coming when people felt that the danger had passed. Dr. Jeremy Brown will look at the striking parallels - and differences - between 1918 and 2020 and what lessons we can learn from that pandemic. Dr. Brown is the author of Influenza: The Hundred Year Hunt to Cure the Deadliest Disease in History and is the Director of the Office of Emergency Care Research at the National Institutes of Health. This program will stream live at youtube.com/walthampubliclibrary.