Pandemics and Me

I have had a long and stressful day. I am exhausted. I have grown tired of the sound of my own voice. 

Among many, many other things, over the past few hours I have been doing some research on the history of flu pandemics in the United States during my lifetime, courtesy of the Centers For Disease Control. The CoronaVirus is the fourth such pandemic to hit this country in my nearly 62 years on the Earth. I will print here what I have discovered about the previous three without any editorializing. Each of you is free to come to your own conclusion about what you read.

The Asian Flu. Summer of 1957 thru early 1958.

The Asian Flu was first detected in Singapore in February of 1957, Hong Kong by April, and finally reached the coastal United States in the early summer. Total deaths associated with this Flu were 1,100,000 worldwide, with 116,000 deaths in the United States. Economic growth as a result of this pandemic cratered to a -10% by the second quarter of 1958, only to rebound by the end of the year to a growth rate of 7.8% for five consecutive quarters.

The Hong Kong Flu September 1968 thru March 1969.

First detected in China in July of 1968, it eventually would kill a million people world wide although it had a very small death rate. 34,000 people perished in the United States. This pandemic, unlike the Asian Flu would cause very little economic pain or disruption.

The Swine Flu 2009-2010

It is estimated that the Swine Flu was contracted by 11-21% of the world’s population in 2009 or roughly 700 million to 1.4 billion people. Despite this astounding number, only 575,000 people died of the disease, and only 4,000 of those in the United States. Again, much like the Hong Kong flu, no significant economic disruptions occurred as a result.

The Coronavirus late 2019 to present

First discovered and identified in the 1960’s, the recent outbreak started in Wuhan, China in late 2019. So far there have been 114,000 confirmed cases worldwide, with over 4,000 deaths. In the United States there have been 500 cases confirmed and 22 deaths. 

Since the 19th of February when the first news reports started coming in, the Dow Jones Industrial average has dropped nearly 5,500 points or 18.7%

Since this is me you’re talking about, and in keeping with my long term view that it is always a good time for a bad joke, I offer you this:

Some people aren’t shaking hands because of the Coronavirus.

I’m not shaking hands because people have run out of toilet paper.