Comparing 1918 Spanish Flu in Moose Jaw with COVID-19 Omicron Variant – Eerily Similar.
In March 2020, when the COVID-19 Flu Pandemic was immanent, I went to the Moose Jaw Public Library Archives and read as many 1918-19 Spanish Flu newspaper stories I could find. Within days the Library closed, but I had gathered lots of information.
Here I compare the 1918-19 Spanish Flu information with the progression of the three COVID-19 Variants.
The Second and most deadly Variant of Spanish Flu arrived in Moose Jaw, by train, at the end of September 1918. Newspapers tracked Spanish Flu infections in Canada along the Railway lines. Stories told of the Flu in Toronto – then Winnipeg, then Regina and then Moose Jaw.
Through October 1918 the Second Variant of Spanish Flu killed Moose and Area residents at an alarming rate – often as high as 60 a day. Businesses, schools and churches were closed. People were told to wear masks. Schools, church halls and a hotel were commandeered as hospitals. Ross School, where I got my COVID-19 Booster Shot became a Spanish Flu hospital.
Spanish Flu killed by causing pneumonia. There was no treatment in 1918. Patients who ‘turned blue’ (lack of oxygen – lung infection) were placed in palliative care to die – and did.
From the Newspapers I learned:
1. Beginning November 15, 1918, deaths from the Spanish Flu in Moose Jaw and District declined
2. People over age 40 had a lower death rate than young people.
Why and How Come?
The First Variant of Spanish Flu began in October 1917 in Kansas when Avian Flu infected humans. It spread to Europe over the Winter of 1917-18 killing as it went.
In the Spring and summer of 1918 the Second and deadliest Variant emerged. It killed millions.
The Third Variant replaced the Second in Moose Jaw starting in November 1918. The Third Variant was weaker and continued through the winter and into the summer of 1919.
The 3rd Variant of Spanish Flu sounds a lot like the COVID-19, Omicron Variant.
Proof Third Variant Weaker in Moose Jaw
Medical Health Officer, Dr. Turnbull feared that if crowds gathered to celebrate Armistice Day, November 11, 1918, (the End of WW I), Spanish Flu would spread and kill hundreds. In spite of Dr. Turnbull’s warning, hundreds gathered in downtown Moose Jaw to celebrate.
The predicted disaster never happened. The November 1918 Moose Jaw death rate declined. People still got sick and died, but at a slower rate. People’s immune system could withstand the weaker Third Variant of Spanish Flu. Emergency hospitals like Prince Arthur School closed. Illnesses declined into the summer of 1919.
Spanish Flu never ended. It became weaker and people’s immune systems coped. As a Variant, it stayed around for years as an annual winter flu.
Why Were Older Citizens Protected Against Spanish Flu?
People over 40 survived the Russian Flu Pandemic of 1889-90 and had protective antibodies.
Discovery of Spanish Flu Variants
Genome sequencing by Evolutionary Biologists led to the discovery of the Genetic Variants.
Want to know more? Please read:
1. Jeffery K, Taubenberger, “The Origin and Virulence of the 1918 Spanish Influenza Virus”. Jeff is the chief of the Viral Pathogenesis and Evolution Section at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
2. Or the work of Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer, an evolutionary biologist at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin who, “… found six human lungs that dated to the pandemic years of 1918 and 1919…” for his evaluation of the virus. (SEE Tom Metcalfe)
Economic Implications of COVID-19 – High Inflation
Today, inflation is a huge problem. Food prices in Moose Jaw are up [significantly].
This is a guess, but the United States Federal Reserve will do everything in its power to reduce Inflation. Canada will follow.
My Best Guess on Fighting Inflation:
1. The United States Federal Reserve (Fed) will reduce Bond Buying beginning February 7, 2022
2. The Fed will increase interest rates by 0.25 % on February 17, 2022
3. The Fed will increase interest rates by 0.25% on April 7, 2022.
