Virus outbreak back in 1918(Spanish Flu 1918) : 'You Must Wash Properly.' Newspaper Ads From the 1918 Flu Pandemic Show Some Things Never thought

As governments and societies across the world struggle with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and scientists look to modelling to see how various approaches might impact the worldwide trajectory of the virus, some observers are drawing comparisons to another pandemic that happened over a century ago. The so-called Spanish flu of 1918, which is thought to have claimed the lives of 50 million people worldwide, has been used as a reference point, showing how COVID-19 compares to other pandemics through history.

Last week, a 105-year-old man thought to be Spain’s last living survivor of the 1918 pandemic warned the world to “be careful” amid the coronavirus outbreak. “I don’t want to see the same thing repeated. It claimed so many lives,” José Ameal Peña told Spanish newspaper, El Mundo.

“People used remedies than that it’s funny to read about now,” says Zetland, who notes that one particular remedy kept recurring while she was researching. “You were meant to cook 12 onions, get the juice and drink it the day afterwards, and that would protect you from the flu.” Today, misinformation about the coronavirus and the best ways to prevent infections — including, for example, debunked claims that blasting the sinuses with hot air can kill the virus — have spread rapidly on social media.

“Advertisers back then did follow the movement,” but now it has become a source of income and fame etc..