One thing that struck me as a particularly concerning similarity between the outbreak of COVID-19 and the Spanish Flu is the way that misinformation spreads faster than science can keep up with. It seems that by nature, science and responsible scientific discoveries lag behind the demand for information in a pandemic-type crisis. Similar to a sort of power vacuum, a vacuum to fill public discourse with information leaves open a huge possibility for dangerous disinformation.
Misinformation can and did come from non-scientific sources, but in both the Spanish Flu and COVID During the Spanish flu, incidents of scientific leaders disseminating rushed information caused massive problems that may have led to avoidable deaths. During the Spanish Flu pandemic, many doctors over-prescribed aspirin, which led to spikes of poisonings across the world. Many people ran with the idea of aspirin treatments, taking lethal doses in response to a panic brought on by the pandemic. In the beginning of COVID-19, the World Health Organization had a more conservative approach to the general public wearing masks, advising that there did not yet exist sufficient evidence to support the benefits. That position quickly changed, but the debate of masks has already progressed to the point where it was no longer a societal given. The public responded as societal movements typically do, riddled with panic and division that the scientific community then had to grapple with and change their stances on with greater public health in mind.
It is natural for scientific processes to be consolidated into shorter timelines in crises like pandemics. Spikes in death rates demand a faster response, this is not surprising nor is it an illegitimate response. However, I think that we as members of society have a duty to exert a certain amount of patience (and caution) with scientific organizations, so as not to pressure leaders into rushed announcements. While some misinformation absolutely has malintentions, other incidents can be caused by the lag between what guidance the general public needs to hear and what scientists are ready to disseminate to larger portions of society.
I agree that a dangerous aspect of the fear during a pandemic is the desperation for information and things to be done. People have a natural way of believing things that they read when they want it to be true. The pandemic is full of fear of death, loss, and struggle so people become impatient when there is no answers to all of their questions. I was also surprised that there were similar approaches and reactions occurring now and in 1918. People battled and still are battling the necessity of wearing masks which is interesting because if they paid attention to history then they can see that masks did make a difference in prevention.
I thought it was important that you brought up the idea that miscommunications can spread faster than anything else. With COVID-19 we see that is completely true; one person with authority says something and everyone will start to believe even if it was a misstatement.
The disconnect between science and assumptions is a common thread throughout history. You can see this with general sickness being referred to as possession by the devil and requiring an exorcism, or even the myths surrounding a woman’s menstruation cycle. Disease outbreaks are no different, whether is be the work of the devil during the waves of the Black Plague or what random drugs help stop COVID.
I really enjoyed the last point you make about the lag that can occur when scientists are pressured by both the public and leaders to release scientific findings. While it is important to try to combat this and work towards always releasing accurate reports, I believe the best step to work around this issue is to recognize the extreme pressure scientists are working under in a pandemic. By understanding that politics is likely being pushed at many scientists, we can understand why some reports might produce under or over cautious results.