Community Chat

[drizzellla]

I was a junior in high school and remember hearing about the Hong Kong flu. But that was the extent of it. Did not know anyone that got it. And my brother came back from Vietnam several years later.

My husband's sister got polio from the vaccine. His family was quarantined for several weeks. She was the only one in the family of 7 to get polio. 

[esmerelda]

I think my brother had it. He was uncomfortable but survived it with no problem. 

I heard an interesting story the other day about how the idea of social distancing to stop the spread was born. If interested google social distancing born in ABQ. 

[Bhvbum]

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@on the bay wrote:

It was 1968, veterans returning from Vietnam brought this back with them.

I know I was alive and cognizant then but I don't remember anyone ever talking about it. I was going to ask my mother but I doubt she would remember.

I just thought it would be interesting hearing others persepective who lived through this and remembers.

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I remember the Hong Kong flu just barely and I was in high school, I don't even know anyone who was sick with it.  How could I have forgotten it so I looked it up on Wikipedia just to see why.  It just wasn't that big an impact.  I have grandsons that age now and no doubt they will never forget this Pandemic. That's why I compared it, there was a good reason we just don't have any significant memories of it.

[Blahblahvampemer]

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@Bhvbum wrote:

I remember it but it was spread over a period of better than 2-2 1/2 years.  Deaths in the U S over those 24-36 months added up to 33,800 in the U.S according to Wikileaks.  

As a comparison, this Covid-19 Pandemic, we will have by next week 100,000 deaths in just 3 months.

I am not aware of anything being closed down then, but the death toll is nothing like our current coronavirus.

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No, we had 100,000 flu deaths with a pandemic in the 1950s.  Birx has admitted that the deaths are a lot lower than the "official" numbers.  Virtually every death was listed as COVID, and every treatment/death allowed insane billing amounts.

[KarenQVC]

I was on the UMICH campus the winter of 68-69.  That winter many students were sick as dogs.  I was so sick they admitted me to the Health Service for about a week.  Nowadays they would put a student in the hospital, I think.

I don't remember much.  I was given supportive care and sick foods.  It went well.

Really, in those days we were preoccupied with the Vietnam War, which cast a shadow over the whole country.

[Sooner]

I remember someone in my town was said to have died from a vaccine shot for the swine flu. It apparently happened to a lot of people.

I remember a lot of named flus and life continued on.  No detailed stats were kept like this so we really can't look back and compare them.

Bird flu, hanta virus, Asian flu, and on and on. . . 

[on the bay]

@KarenQVC -

That's right!

I know for so many the Vietnam war was first and foremost on our minds.

The peace marches all of that!

Now I wonder if what you described

and maybe what others had, we didn't know that it was the Hong Kong flu!

@Sooner -the swine flu vaccine deaths-that is awful! 

I am sure everyone living now will definitely remember this virus!

[KarenQVC]

@on the bay No, the Hong Kong name was out there for sure.  It was widely regarded as particularly nasty stuff.

I remember the swine flu.  It too was regarded as nasty.  I remember there were mob scenes at big public places to get the vaccine.

here 

[haddon9]

@on the bay I'm like you...barely remember it.  I was in 8-10th grade and I remember getting sick with the flu during Christmas break.  I was pretty sick but took it in stride and wasn't afraid since they didn't make a big deal of it on the news.

Things were a lot different back then...I was thinking with this pandemic which is worse, can you imagine dealing with this without the internet?!....no online shopping, Amazon, Facebook, Youtube, Netflix, etc.

[Krimpette]

I remember some of it vividly.  I was a bridesmaid at a small wedding.  The reception was held in the home of the parents of the bride.  Some of the guests arrived saying they were sick with the Hong Kong flu, but didn't want to miss the wedding!  I got to church the next morning and by the time I got home, I couldn't even comb the curly hairdo (required by the bride) out of my hair.  I "lost" a whole week of my life.  It was around Christmas time.  I had a roommate at that time.  She and my uncle packed me up and drove me to my parent's home (250 miles away) for the holiday.  I was sick the entire time.  The sickest I've ever been.