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1918 – 1919
Illness from the 1918 flu pandemic, also known as the Spanish flu, came on quickly. Some people felt fine in the morning but died by nightfall. People who caught the Spanish Flu but did not die from it often died from complications caused by bacteria, such as pneumonia.
During the 1918 pandemic:
- Approximately 20% to 40% of the worldwide population became ill
- An estimated 50 million people died
- Nearly 675,000 people died in the United States
Unlike earlier pandemics and
seasonal flu outbreaks, the 1918 pandemic flu saw high mortality rates among healthy adults. In fact, the illness and mortality rates were highest among adults 20 to 50 years old. The reasons for this remain unknown."
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1957 – 1958
In February 1957, a new flu virus was identified in the Far East. Immunity to this strain was rare in people younger than 65. A pandemic was predicted. To prepare, health officials closely monitored flu outbreaks. Vaccine production began in late May 1957 and was available in limited supply by August 1957.
In the summer of 1957, the virus came to the United States quietly with a series of small outbreaks. When children returned to school in the fall, they spread the disease in classrooms and brought it home to their families. Infection rates peaked among school children, young adults, and pregnant women in October 1957. By December 1957, the worst seemed to be over.
However, another wave of illness came in January and February of 1958. This is an example of the potential "
second wave" of infections that can happen during a pandemic.
Most influenza–and pneumonia–related deaths occurred between September 1957 and March 1958. Although the 1957 pandemic was not as devastating as the 1918 pandemic, about 69,800 people in the United States died. The elderly had the highest rates of death."
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1968 – 1969
In early 1968, a new flu virus was detected in Hong Kong. The first cases in the United States were detected as early as September 1968. Illness was not widespread in the United States until December 1968. Deaths from this virus peaked in December 1968 and January 1969. Those over the age of 65 were most likely to die. The number of deaths between September 1968 and March 1969 was 33,800, making it the mildest flu pandemic in the 20th century. The same virus returned in 1970 and 1972.
There could be several reasons fewer people in the United States died due to this virus:
- The Hong Kong flu virus was similar in some ways to the 1957 pandemic flu virus. This might have provided some immunity against the Hong Kong flu virus.
- The Hong Kong flu virus hit in December of 1968, when school children were on vacation. This caused a decline in flu cases because children were not at school to infect one another. This also prevented it from spreading into their homes.
- Improved medical care and antibiotics that are more effective for secondary bacterial infections were available for those who became ill."
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2009 – 2010
In the spring of 2009, a new flu virus spread quickly across the United States and the world. The first U.S. case of
H1N1 (swine flu) was diagnosed on April 15, 2009. By April 21, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was working to develop a vaccine for this new virus. On April 26, the U.S. government declared H1N1 a public health emergency.
By June, 18,000 cases of H1N1 had been reported in the United States. A total of 74 countries were affected by the pandemic. H1N1 vaccine supply was limited in the beginning. People at the
highest risk of complications got the vaccine first.
By November 2009, 48 states had reported cases of H1N1, mostly in young people. That same month, over 61 million vaccine doses were ready. Reports of flu activity began to decline in parts of the country, which gave the medical community a chance to vaccinate more people.
80 million people were vaccinated against H1N1, which minimized the impact of the illness.
The CDC estimates that 43 million to 89 million people had H1N1 between April 2009 and April 2010. They estimate between 8,870 and 18,300 H1N1 related deaths."
Pandemic Flu History | Flu.gov
There are two problems with influenza vacciations, neither of which indicates they should be scrapped.
One is that they take months to develop, and cannot be developed until the virus anticipated to cause the most problems surfaces.
The second problem is that there isn't enough to fully vaccinate the world, and there are concerns that those who have quantities of the vaccine will hoard it
However either of those things indicate that the vaccine is worthless or should be avoided. There is no doubt that they save lives in the populations in which they are administered. Which is why it's so important to get them, if you can.
Influenza pandemic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
