Here at the Center for the History of Medicine we are immensely proud of the work we have done on the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic and the use of non-pharmaceutical interventions – the social distancing measures of which we have all become accustomed – implemented then to help mitigate the worst impacts of the pandemic.  Working with colleagues at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, our work confirmed that these interventions did indeed “flatten the curve” in 1918 and are effective community mitigation strategies.

Despite the terrible nature of this pandemic,  we are gratified that our work has played a pivotal role in helping to shape the community mitigation strategies being implemented today.

Together, we can do this!