Effects

The Spanish Flu:

Effects

Short-Term Effects of 1918:

A big effect of the Spanish flu was the number of deaths worldwide because of the unadvanced technology. Since there weren't any vaccinations nor medicine to help out the ill, it led to the death of millions. The flu killed more people in the United States than World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War combined.

Amount of deaths in different countries.

Nurses Wanted! Advertisement in The St. Mary Banner, October 12, 1918. (Library Of Congress)

"Thousands of nurses took ill during the pandemic, and hundreds of nurses died." - National Archives

"The decline in economic activity combined with elevated inflation resulted in large declines in the real returns on stocks and short-term government bonds. For example, countries experiencing the average death rate of 2 percent saw real stock returns drop by 26 percentage points. The estimated drop in the United States was much smaller, 7 percentage points." - National Bureau of Economic Research

An advertisement in the October 17 Times-Picayune admonishes readers to stay home.

A monthly bulletin from the Department of Health showed the staggering death rate during the fall of 1918. Credit... New York City Municipal Archives

Another effect of the Spanish flu was the overwhelmed healthcare systems. As stated before, because of the rapid hit of the flu there wasn't any high-tech protection for nurses and doctors to safely protect themselves while helping others. Healthcare workers were risking their lives trying to save patients even though they couldn't do much, they risked it to keep their patients calm and comfortable.

 1918 Influenza Pandemic Survivor, Edna Boone, Interviewed 2008

"Indeed, when the epidemic arrived in the United States in the fall of 1918, professional nurses were stretched thin. Hospitals were deluged with flu victims; wards overflowed and graduate nurses had to use both medical students and “pupil nurses” to help. In the community, there were simply not enough Visiting, Public Health, Red Cross and Blue Circle nurses to provide care." - National Library of Medicine

When young, healthy soldiers began getting sick by the dozens in March, 1918, military physicians were baffled by what might be causing it. Courtesy: NARA

<-- Due to the regulations of quarantine and distancing. Many businesses and schools shut down. This led to less productivity, which caused a major disruption in the economy. 

Businesses closing down due to the Spanish Influenza.