#107 – John Barry: 1918 Spanish flu pandemic—historical account, parallels to today, and lessons

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

April 22, 2020

Duration

1h 22m

Channel

Peter Attia MD

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

In this episode, John Barry, historian and author of The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, describes what happened with the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, including where it likely originated, how and why it spread, and what may have accounted for the occurrence of three separate waves of the virus, each with different rates of infection and mortality. While the current coronavirus pandemic pales in comparison to the devastation of the Spanish flu, John highlights a number of parallels that can be drawn and lessons to be learned and applied going forward. We discuss: -What got John interested in the Spanish flu and led to him writing his book? [2:45]; -Historical account of the 1918 Spanish flu—origin, the first wave in the summer of 1918, the death rate, and how it compared to other pandemics [10:30]; -Evidence that second wave in the fall of 1918 was a mutation of the same virus, and the immunity immunity protection for those exposed to the first wave [18:00]; -What impact did World War 1 have on the spread and the propagation of a “second wave”? [21:45]; -How the government’s response may have impacted the death toll [26:15]; -Pathology of the Spanish flu, symptoms, time course, transmissibility, mortality, and how it compares to COVID-19 [29:30]; -The deadly second wave—The story of Philadelphia and a government and media in cahoots to downplay the truth [35:50]; -What role did social distancing and prior exposure to the first wave play in the differing mortality rates city to city? [44:45]; -The importance of being truthful with the public—Is honesty the key to reducing fear and panic to bring a community together and combat the socially-isolating nature of pandemic? [46:15]; -Third wave of Spanish flu in the spring of 1919 [51:30]; -Global impact of Spanish flu, a high mortality in the younger population, and why India hit so much harder than other countries [55:15]; -What happened to the economy and the mental psyche of the public in the years following the pandemic? [59:20]; -Comparing the 2009 H1N1 virus to Spanish flu [1:02:10]; -Comparing SARS-CoV-2 to the Spanish flu [1:04:20]; -What are John’s thoughts on how our government and leaders have handled the current pandemic? [1:08:00]; -Sweden’s herd immunity approach, and understanding case mortality rate vs. infection mortality rate [1:10:40]; -What are some important lessons that we can apply going forward? [1:13:00]; -Does John think we will be better prepared for this in the future? [1:16:00]; and -More. Show notes page: https://peterattiamd.com/johnbarry/ -------- About: The Peter Attia Drive is a weekly, ultra-deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing health, longevity, critical thinking…and a few other things. With over 30 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including fasting, ketosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more. Peter is a physician focusing on the applied science of longevity. His practice deals extensively with nutritional interventions, exercise physiology, sleep physiology, emotional and mental health, and pharmacology to increase lifespan (delay the onset of chronic disease), while simultaneously improving healthspan (quality of life). Learn more: https://peterattiamd.com Subscribe to receive exclusive subscriber-only content: https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe Sign up to receive Peter's email newsletter: https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter Connect with Peter on: Facebook: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDFB Twitter: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDTW Instagram: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDIG Subscribe to The Drive: Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/TheDriveApplePodcasts Overcast: http://bit.ly/TheDriveOvercast Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheDriveSpotify Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheDriveGoogle

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Peter Attia

  host

  Physician and host of The Drive podcast (Peter Attia MD).

• John Barry

  guest

  Historian and author known for writing about the 1918 influenza pandemic.

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Peter Attia MD, featuring Peter Attia and John Barry, #107 – John Barry: 1918 Spanish flu pandemic—historical account, parallels to today, and lessons explores john Barry on the 1918 Flu's Origins, Waves, and Lessons John Barry explains that the 1918 virus killed an estimated 50 to 100 million people in three waves, with the deadliest wave lasting roughly 14 to 15 weeks in fall 1918.

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