Newspaper clipping from The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 4, 1918
A sign at the Philadelphia Naval Aircraft Factory warns workers to "not spit."
Newspaper clipping from The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 4, 1918
SPANISH FLU
Just a little over a century before the COVID pandemic, America was subjected to a pandemic known as the Spanish Flu (or Influenza). During this pandemic, the city of Philadelphia in particular was hit hard due to major public health mismanagement of the pandemic. Due to the fact that the federal government was focused intensely on fighting World War One, and preventing American troops from getting infected, states and cities were left on their own to devise their own strategies to combat the pandemic.
In the case of Philadelphia, the city’s decision to orchestrate a massive patriotic parade of over 200,000 people despite warnings from public health officials of the risk of the flu spreading led to the rapid spreading of the disease across the city. This resulted in the deaths of over 17,000 people. In contrast, other American cities such as St. Louis were more vigilant about imposing quarantine measures, mask mandating, and social distancing after observing the catastrophic effects of the disease in Philadelphia.
Because of this lack of understanding of how the virus spread, there were recorded attempts to conduct experimentation on 62 prisoners located in Boston in order to discover how it spread. This included deliberate exposure of these prisoners to the bodily fluids of infected people, as well as to hospitals with sick patients. These prisoners were ultimately motivated by promises of pardon and release from lengthy sentences.
References
Barry, D., & Dickerson, C. (2020, April 4). The killer flu of 1918: A Philadelphia Story.
The New York Times. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/us/coronavirus-spanish-flu-philadelphia-pen
nsylvania.html
Petras, G., & Gelles, K. (2020, May 25). 100 years ago, Philadelphia chose a parade
over social distancing during the 1918 spanish flu – and paid a heavy price. USA
Today. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2020/05/22/second-wave-coronavirus- spanish-flu-1918-philadelphia-st-louis-influenza-deaths-covid-19/3085405001/
THE DEADLY VIRUS The Influenza Epidemic of 1918. National Archives and Records
Administration. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/records-list.html
The Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. (2019, October). Spit
Spreads Death. MÜTTER MUSEUM. Retrieved from