One Hundred Years Later, The Flu Still Kills

The Coronavirus is here. Vancouver Island is not safe from the flu, after all. We didn’t expect it would be, but we hoped, just as humans everywhere, standing in the path of a threat, tend to do.

Scientists, health authorities, and the media have all told us it was inevitable that the flu would come. So, with the news this week, that our little island, surrounded by the Georgia Strait on all sides, has recorded its first case, shouldn’t have stunned me. But it has.

I have always been aware of the flu and its dangers. My grandmother, a young prairie wife of twenty-eight, and the mother of four children under seven died of the Spanish flu in November 1918. It was devastating for her children, leaving them in a haphazard care situation, which affected them for the rest of their lives. What happened to them resonates with her descendants, even now, over one hundred years later. Life would have turned out entirely different for our mother, who was only eighteen months old at the time,

Today, with the benefits of science and instant communication at our disposal, we should be in a better position to combat, or at least understand, the current pandemic. But that isn’t so. Fear and misinformation abound, and while we trust our news media, we know that the virus can hide in people who appear healthy and can be commuted days after exposure. As a result, authorities don’t know exactly how many cases there are, and where those afflicted contacted the virus.

Responses to the news varies. Some people have paid close attention and are well prepared, while some prefer not to know until the numbers in our community are too great to ignore. Some people may be fatalistic about it and are convinced there is little we can do. I don’t believe that’s true. Since I am an older person, in the ‘at-risk’ group, I’m doing everything I can to prevent becoming ill. Here’s what I think may help:

• Stay away from large gatherings.
• Practice social distancing, even in small groups.
• Order groceries and pharmaceuticals for pick-up instead of entering stores.
• Do not touch face when out.
• Wash hands with germicidal soap when entering your home.
• Clean hard surfaces in your home and car with disinfectant (includes phone, keyboards, remote controls).
• Wash fruit and food that will be eaten raw, after shopping.
• Eat cooked foods rather than salads.
• Stay in touch with loved ones by phone, Skype and Facetime).

An encouraging note is that, in the absence of good leadership at the top, community leaders and corporations in the United States have taken a strong stance on large group activities. Closing down concerts, sports events and some travel takes a toll, costing money, and angering participants, but is the only way this virus can be controlled, at least in some measure.

Take care of each other. Be sure to stay in touch with older people you care about by phone, email, and video. Be cautious, and be safe.