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The Check-In: Missouri During The 1918 Flu Pandemic

KBIA
KBIA host Janet Saidi is ready to take calls.

Health experts have asked us to continue social and physical distancing during this covid crisis, also to wear masks in many public places and to get tested if symptoms pop up. But this isn’t the first time Missourians have been asked to practice precaution during a viral outbreak.

More than a hundred years ago, the 1918 flu, often called the Spanish flu, overtook the United States and hit parts of Missouri especially hard. Even then, schools and churches closed and people were told to stay home to protect themselves and each other from what the CDC calls the most severe pandemic in recent history. Between 1918-1919, an estimated 675,000 Americans died from the H1N1 flu virus and an estimated 50 million people worldwide.

And while modern medicine has advanced a lot, the current coronavirus pandemic has claimed the lives of over 100,000 Americans already, including more than 12,000 Missourians.

In this episode, we look back in time to see what we can learn from how Missouri has handled the 1918 flu pandemic and what might help us proceed to a new normal today.

Our guest:

Bob Priddy, a trustee and former president of the State Historical Society of Missouri. He’s also an author, podcaster and the former news director at MissouriNet.

Also in this episode, we talk about the city manager John Glascock's State of the City message. You can view the Missourian's coverage here.

To hear the live show, tune in weekdays at noon. Also, you can leave us a voicemail at 877-532-0971 about how you are handling the isolation during the coronavirus pandemic

Kristofor left KBIA in fall of 2021
Janet Saidi is a producer and professor at KBIA and the Missouri School of Journalism.
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