Distancing worked in 1918. It can again Viewpoint

The University of Michigan’s Center for the History of Medicine has created a digital influenza encyclopedia that examined the non-pharmaceutical interventions taken by 50 US cities during the 1918 pandemic. In the course of the project, the researchers noticed that cities that used social distancing measures, and adopted them early, experienced a lower mortality rate.

‘‘In the end, Los Angeles experienced a lower epidemic death rate than many other American cities: 494 deaths per 100,000 people. By contrast, San Francisco – which acted slowly and which relied heavily on the purported protection of gauze face masks to stop the spread of influenza – had an excess death rate of 673 per 100,000,’’ they wrote.

Fast-acting cities not only avoided deaths; they also protected their economies. In a new study entitled ‘‘Pandemics depress the economy, public health interventions do not’’, researchers concluded that local governments that suffered the most flu deaths also took a bigger hit to their economies.

Another lesson from 1918 is to not ease social distancing measures too soon. After seeing their efforts pay off, US cities lifted restrictions on the public, only to see the flu come roaring back to life in another deadly wave. Last week, President Trump said, ‘‘This is a pandemic the likes of which nobody has seen before.’’ Yes, we have. We got through it then. And, with the help of time-tested social distancing measures, we will do so again.