U.S. COVID-19 Deaths Exceed Death Toll Recorded During 1918 Influenza Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic surpassed a grim milestone by exceeding the death toll Americans recorded during the 1918 influenza pandemic. 

According to data from John Hopkins University, at least 674,446 Americans died since the pandemic began 18 months ago. Thousands are still dying from the virus every day. 

In comparison, 1918’s influenza killed around 50 million globally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That equals about 200 million in today’s global population. It’s estimated that 675,000 of the deaths included in that figure occurred in the United States. 

A professor of the history of medicine at the University of Michigan, Howard Markel, told ABC News, “These are two different viruses, two different times in history, at two different times of medical history, with what you have available to combat or treat it.”

Experts stress the importance that figures from the 1918 pandemic are just estimates. According to an assistant professor of the history of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Graham Mooney, it is likely that cases were significantly undercounted. Non-registration, missing records, misdiagnosis, or underreporting would contribute to less accurate totals.

According to Christopher McKnight Nichols, an associate professor of history at Oregon State University, another significant difference is the availability of the coronavirus vaccine. 

“People were desperate for treatment measures in 1918. People were desperate for a vaccine,” he told the outlet. “We have effective vaccines now, and so what strikes me in the comparison, if you think about this milestone, this tragedy of deaths, is that same number, but we have a really effective treatment, the thing that they most wanted in 1918 and ’19, we’ve got.”

No vaccine or treatments were available in 1918. Similar to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns, facial coverings, social distancing, and limits on gatherings were implemented.

Markel noted another significant difference between the two pandemics is the age groups affected. In 1918, a disproportionate number of those aged 18 to 45 years died. With coronavirus, the over 65 population was most affected.

Although “it’s not the worst of all time,” Markel said of the coronavirus pandemic, “It’s the worst of our lifetimes, and it’s changed our lives in so many ways.”