(CNN)In the deadly fall wave of the 1918 flu pandemic, millions of people were doomed because they didn’t know what we know now about how viruses and respiratory illnesses spread.
We might face a similar fate if some people continue to ignore what a century of scientific progress and hindsight have taught us about ending pandemics.
The 1918 pandemic transpired in three waves, from the spring of 1918 to the winter of 1919 — ultimately killing 50 million to 100 million people globally. The first wave in the spring of 1918 was relatively mild. A majority of 1918 flu deaths occurred in the fall of 1918 — the second, and worst, wave of the 1918 flu.
The St. Louis Red Cross Motor Corps was on duty with mask-wearing women holding stretchers at the backs of ambulances during the influenza epidemic in Missouri in October 1918.
Health experts expect Covid-19 infections to increase this winter because the virus that causes Covid-19 is a coronavirus, and other coronaviruses spread more during winter. In wintry, less-humid air, virus-carrying particles can linger in the air longer. Additionally, our nasal membranes are drier and more vulnerable to infection in winter. And as the weather gets colder, we spend more time indoors without sufficient ventilation, which means the virus has a higher likelihood of spreading.
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