eli5 What are the ways people in the 20th century survived the Spanish flu compared to what we experienced in 2020?

Question

eli5 What are the ways people in the 20th century survived the Spanish flu compared to what we experienced in 2020?

In: 358

Answer 1

First of all, 1-5% of the world‘s population died in the 1918-1920 flu pandemic (please don‘t call it Spanish flu). In absolute numbers, 17-100 million people died back then while 7-28 million people died in the COVID-19 pandemic, but we have to consider that this one is still ongoing.

Public health measures that significantly helped prevent the spread of the virus (and prevent people dying from it) back in 1918-1920 were face masks, social distancing, banning public gatherings, as well as closing schools and theaters. Basically the same measures that were applied in the past years except for vaccines.

Edit: a word