This year there have for obvious reasons been a lot of conversations about vaccinations. As the world eagerly awaits a vaccine for the current pandemic doing the rounds, Covid-19, the spotlight is on all of the trials that take place, run by various companies like Richmond Pharmacology, and things like adaptive phase 1 studies.
It is easy to fell like amidst all of the confusion this is a new thing – but history has taught us many times that a global pandemic is certainly nothing new. The Spanish flu was one of the biggest worldwide – during 1918-1919 over a third of the population of the world caught this virus and it had devastating effects on people in all age groups – the similarities to the current pandemic are quite striking.
Not much was known of the virus at the time – similarly to these current times, some countries relied heavily on isolating and quarantining people, and putting emphasis on good hygiene to try to control it. Because it affected and killed many people across all age groups the effects were devastating.
Today, seasonal flu still does the rounds with some winter flu seasons seeing more than others – but we now have a flu vaccine that although it doesn’t protect everyone, is an important tool when it comes to ensuring that the most vulnerable people are protected from a virus which can be deadly.
So, although right now the world can seem a little lost and without hope remember, it is not long ago that humans have been through the same thing before.