pandemics & background

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   https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2020/04/23/spanish-flu-covid-19-1918-pandemic-first-world-war/ or https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2020/04/23/spanish-flu-covid-19-1918-pandemic-first-world-war/ ;
The influenza pandemic from 1918-1919, commonly known as the ‘Spanish Flu’, was the most severe health disaster in recent history. The chaos and political decisions taken during the First World War only worsened its reach and effects. 

There are hard-won lessons from this period, and similarities with the COVID-19 crisis, that merit reflection on how armed conflicts can influence the ways we talk about and struggle to mitigate the current pandemic.
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The 1918 influenza pandemic took place while the First World War was still raging. There were three successive waves: the first in the spring of 1918, the second – and most lethal, responsible for 90% of deaths – in the autumn of 1918, and a final upsurge from the winter of 1918 to the spring of 1919. By the end of the pandemic, more than half of the world’s population had been infected. Estimations on mortality, challenging to confirm for a lack of data, have continuously been revised upwards.

 Nowadays, historians and epidemiologists use a broad spectrum ranging from 2.5 to 5% of the world’s population, which translates to between 50 and 100 million deaths. The pandemic was, therefore, five to ten times deadlier than the First World War.

DJ, One could even discuss this timing. I go for a wider timing; 1917-1923. Pandemics in general are not over in one year...Spread to Asia did take time...

The First World War did not ‘create’ the influenza pandemic. There is no evidence that the wartime conditions led to the outbreak of the H1N1 virus. Moreover, the countries with the highest mortality rates were not those directly affected by the fighting. Switzerland and the United States, for example, paid a considerable toll even though no fighting took place on their territory. 

The Pacific Islands, sub-Saharan Africa, South and East Asia, as well as Central America, were, in fact, the regions most affected by the pandemic, as the underdeveloped health systems there were unable to cope with the sudden influx of patients. Moreover, it appears that in some countries, better economic and social integration were correlated with greater immunization, while mortality was higher in ethnic minorities who had been historically marginalized.

DJ, Censorship, military priorities, concentration of people (soldiers, refugees) often in bad conditions/exhausted DID play a role.

Hospitals were centers of spread for the Spanish Flu. Returning soldiers-on troop ships- did bring back the virus. 

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Dutch Josh Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 23 Jun 2024 Status: Offline Points: 554	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dutch Josh Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: pandemics & background Posted: 18 Jul 2024 at 11:44pm
	https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2020/04/23/spanish-flu-covid-19-1918-pandemic-first-world-war/ or https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2020/04/23/spanish-flu-covid-19-1918-pandemic-first-world-war/ ; The influenza pandemic from 1918-1919, commonly known as the ‘Spanish Flu’, was the most severe health disaster in recent history. The chaos and political decisions taken during the First World War only worsened its reach and effects. There are hard-won lessons from this period, and similarities with the COVID-19 crisis, that merit reflection on how armed conflicts can influence the ways we talk about and struggle to mitigate the current pandemic. - The 1918 influenza pandemic took place while the First World War was still raging. There were three successive waves: the first in the spring of 1918, the second – and most lethal, responsible for 90% of deaths – in the autumn of 1918, and a final upsurge from the winter of 1918 to the spring of 1919. By the end of the pandemic, more than half of the world’s population had been infected. Estimations on mortality, challenging to confirm for a lack of data, have continuously been revised upwards. Nowadays, historians and epidemiologists use a broad spectrum ranging from 2.5 to 5% of the world’s population, which translates to between 50 and 100 million deaths. The pandemic was, therefore, five to ten times deadlier than the First World War. DJ, One could even discuss this timing. I go for a wider timing; 1917-1923. Pandemics in general are not over in one year...Spread to Asia did take time... The First World War did not ‘create’ the influenza pandemic. There is no evidence that the wartime conditions led to the outbreak of the H1N1 virus. Moreover, the countries with the highest mortality rates were not those directly affected by the fighting. Switzerland and the United States, for example, paid a considerable toll even though no fighting took place on their territory. The Pacific Islands, sub-Saharan Africa, South and East Asia, as well as Central America, were, in fact, the regions most affected by the pandemic, as the underdeveloped health systems there were unable to cope with the sudden influx of patients. Moreover, it appears that in some countries, better economic and social integration were correlated with greater immunization, while mortality was higher in ethnic minorities who had been historically marginalized. DJ, Censorship, military priorities, concentration of people (soldiers, refugees) often in bad conditions/exhausted DID play a role. Hospitals were centers of spread for the Spanish Flu. Returning soldiers-on troop ships- did bring back the virus.

Dutch Josh Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 23 Jun 2024 Status: Offline Points: 554	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dutch Josh Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 19 Jul 2024 at 12:03am
	DJ-Another discussion is on a healthcrisis and what governments can/can not do... -Mandatory vaccinations for health care workers; The basic idea is people decide on what happens to their body. Governments can NOT order mandatory vaccination. However if people are not vaccinated-or have proof of vaccination-governments can put restrictions on activities. -Mandatory vaccinations for a general public; Goes even further than for just some specific groups. May go against both basic human rights and a right of privacy. No government person has a basic right to see my medical record-so also info on my vaccination status-from a legal point-is PRIVATE-NOT public ! Here in NL we had QR-codes as proof of vaccination. It did see legal steps-but since people still had a choice government could use QR-codes to allow vaccinated people more activities than unvaccinated/people without a QR-code... -------- The basic idea in many countries is good information gives good results...Maybe providing "good info" by governments did go wrong very early... Priority soon became "keep the economy going" above public health. And to have a public health system one needs a functioning economy... --------- Another basic widespread idea was"we will not have pandemics in the 21st century"...Developed countries were supposed to have such good healthcare diseases would be stopped in time... In 2019 the US-UK-NL were believed-by some-to be the best prepared countries for a possible pandemic. That idea proved to be not "optimistic" but totally unrealistic...In many countries "the poor" had only limited access to healthcare...Severe cases/deaths in those groups were much higher... Inequality was and still is a major problem in dealing with pandemics/diseases. It may have gotten even worse...some "groups/parties" deny CoViD, Mpox, H5N1 as a problem for a wider public...Mass media still go for denial the CoViD pandemic is still ongoing...