The Spanish Flu
How many are familiar with the Spanish Flu of 1918? Would it be surprising to learn that nearly half a billion people were infected worldwide? According to an article posted on March 3 and revised March 30, 2020, “Why the Second Wave of the 1918 Spanish Flu Was So Deadly,” 20,000,000 people died. Some estimates run as high as 50,000,000. In either case, those dying from the flu comprised a greater number than all the men (from all countries) who died in World War I (1914-1918). No, the epidemic did not originate in Spain. The article explains.
Interestingly, it was during this time that the Spanish flu earned its misnomer. Spain was neutral during World War I and unlike its European neighbors, it didn’t impose wartime censorship on its press. In France, England and the United States, newspapers weren’t allowed to report on anything that could harm the war effort, including news that a crippling virus was sweeping through troops. Since Spanish journalists were some of the only ones reporting on a widespread flu outbreak in the spring of 1918, the pandemic became known as the “Spanish flu.”
How is that for irony? The flu began in March of 2018, spread rapidly through April and May before diminishing during the summer months. However, it returned with a vengeance in September, October, and November. In October alone almost 200,000 Americans died. Not only did the very young and the very old die, but those between 25 and 35 were felled in great numbers, also. Do these statistics seem tremendously worse than those we are currently dealing with? Of course, they are. Why did a second wave of the pandemic arise from the ashes of the first round? Many believe that a mutant strain of the flu took over.
We have no idea at this time what will occur. The best predictions are that in three weeks or so, the number of cases will lessen. Who knows when the quarantines will be lifted and when public gatherings will be safe once again? Many have wondered if this plague is of God. Not necessarily, but it shouldn’t be ruled out, either. What it does teach us is that human beings are not as strong and invincible as we think. Our vulnerability shows that we are not as “in control” and independent as we might imagine. We are actually at risk every day of our lives; this pandemic just heightens our awareness of how fragile life is. May we always walk humbly before God and be prepared to face the judgment (2 Cor. 5:10).
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