I’m Back – Knocked Down, But Not Out – Hard Data – Spanish Flu vs Covid-19
Blog No. 116
June 10, 2020
Knocked Down, But Not Out
Reading Time: 7 Minutes
By Mack W. Borgen, Recipient of Eight National Book Awards.
For a “cleaner” / non-email presentation of this and my other blogs, essays, and articles, please go to my website at https://www.mackwborgen.com/
Introduction
The last months have been difficult, challenging, and literally scary for Americans. At this time, more than 110,000 Americans have died. There is no way this, or any other author, can duly honor these Americans. My deepest sympathy extends to all of their family, friends and loved ones.
Everyone has reacted to the Covid-19 pandemic in their own way. Everyone has protected themselves and their loved ones as best they could. We will have to continue doing so until this damned Covid-19 becomes a distant memory.
And this author, maybe like you, has been knocked down — but not knocked out. And it is time for me, too, to regain my energy and voice; to get going once again.
Since 2012, I have been writing blogs on this website. Over those eight years, I written over 115 blogs about many different subjects.
Starting in October, 2019, I have been focusing upon the presentation of many varied ideas for “Fixing America.” That which has recently hit our country – the Covid, the acrimonious politics, and the civil unrest in our streets — reminds us that there is much left to be done.
But we also joy, reflection, memory, and even smiling levity in our lives. Thus, my blogs about the “Best Song Lyrics of Modern America” have been interspersed with my “Fixing America” blogs.
For more levity for my readers, I have also been presenting in each blog “Fancypants Words” – words that are real, but not well known. Since early March of this year, more than 37% of all conversations in America have begun with the F*bomb. O.K., I made that up. But still, we do need new words in our language, and the Fancypants words can be used for fun every now and then — to impress your family, your neighbor, or your cat.
AND SO I AM BACK. Humbled again. But I am back.
It is time to get going again.
My blogs will start again next week. Please keep an eye out. Forward them on to your friends or send me their email addresses so that they may automatically receive an email copy of them. My mailing list is never circulated or sold to third parties, and your and your friends’ comments about any of my blogs are always welcomed by me.
The Spanish Flu and Covid-19: Compared
It seems that facts have been very hard to come by over the last months. Too often, they have become lost in the confusion, panic, and politics of this pandemic.
So, if I may, in this first, come-back blog, I thought it might be useful to present a few facts about the 1917-1920 Spanish flu epidemic. It hit our country — and the rest of the world — about 100 years ago. At that time as well, starting in San Francisco, people were warned to wear masks. Quarantine signs were nailed on people’s homes in Salt Lake City. The epidemic swept over the world in three separate waves over the years from April, 1917 to April, 1920.
But encouragingly, America is much more powerful now – in the good sense of that word. Our medical and health services resources are immensely better. Our understanding of these types of viruses and the skills of our scientists and medical professionals have been logarithmically enhanced. From 100 years ago, the tools for research and communications have expanded with, literally since the 1920s, the phone, computers, the Internet, and a thousands other speed-enhancing tools.
But, still, these following facts may help us understand the scope of this Covid-19 pandemic.
U.S. Population
Year: 1920 2020
Population 106,500,000 331,000,000
1% of Population Equals: 1,065,000 3,310,000
US Deaths – Spanish Flu vs Covid-19:
Spanish Flu:
Number of Deaths: 511,200-862,000
Percent of Population: 0.48%-0.81*
Covid-19 (As of June 10, 2020)
Number of Deaths (To Date): 110,000
Percent of Population: 0.034%
Summary: The Spanish flu (which especially affected the very young and very old) killed at least about five times more Americans than Covid-19 and about 15 times more per 1,000 Americans than Covid-19 — or at least based upon the Covid-19 data currently available.
On the other hand, Covid-19 has already more Americans that were killed in the Vietnam, Korean, Iraq, and Afghanistan Wars combined.
Frame of Reference Data:
War U.S. Deaths
Civil War 655,000
World War II 405,000
Covid-19 110,000
Vietnam 58,000
Korea 37,000
Iraq 4,500
Afghanistan 2,200
Now, as painful as this type of information is to think about, I will – over the next months — try to do my small, small part in turning our collective energies and focus back to things more encouraging. Even in our Covid isolations, our time can be used to think, plan, analyze, solve, reminisce, enjoy, and even dream. As I mention in my books — and as we are reminded by the protests in our streets — both the good and the bad news is that “the place to begin is everywhere.”
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