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Fort Riley
On March 11th, 1918 several soldiers in Fort Riley complained about a sore throat and a bad headache. They were sent to the hospital and within a day over 100 soldiers were hospitalized for the same problems. By the end of the week, over 500 soldiers were hospitalized with an unknown sickness. -
Influenza Announced
On July 22nd, 1918 public health officials announce that the virus is called the "Spanish Influenza" and this is because Spain announced the influenza was spreading throughout their country, so it was just assumed it started there. -
Dr. Vaughn's Arrival at Camp Devens
Early in September, Dr Vaughn was told to go to Camp Devens, where he would see something that would shock him. When he arrived, he saw hundreds of hospital beds and not a single one was empty. Camp Devens was suffereing from the influenza and the day he arrived, 63 soldiers died of the illness. -
German's Spread Infuenza
On September 18th, 1918, American scientists come up with the hypothesis that the influenza was spread throughout America by the Germans releasing the virus in a largely populated area. Their reasoning for this hypothesis was "The Germans have started epidemics in Europe, and there is no reason why they should be particularly gentle with the United States." -
New Cases and $1,000,000 Funding
Days after the Parade, 635 new cases on the Spanish Influenza were reported and the government would soon have to announce that the civilian population is now at risk of the virus. The congress than approved a $1,000,000 fund to the U.S. Public Health Service to hire new nurses and doctors to treat the rising number of patients. They would then hire over 1,000 doctors and 700 nurses, and even with such a great number of doctors and nurses, it still isn't enough to treat the number of patients. -
Boston Deaths and Cancelations
Boston announces that 202 people had died from influenza in a single day. Shortly after that, the city could only cancel its Liberty bond parades and sporting events to stop the virus from spreading. Churches were also canceled and the stock market was nearly at a stand still. -
Philadelphia Records
On October 6th, 1918 Philadelphia announces that today there was a record high amount of deaths, at a total of 289 influenza-related deaths in a single day. This would be the record for only a few weeks, and the amount of deaths from influenza would continue to rise. -
Influenza Vaccination
Dr. C.Y. White announced that he has created a vaccine that will prevent influenza. Over 10,000 people go through with the vaccination, but whether or not the vaccine actually helped is up for debate. -
Massive Death Toll
869 New Yorkers die of Influenza in a single day and thousands more are sick with the virus. In Philadelphia, the death rate for this week is 700 times higher than normal. -
Crime Rates Drop
The crime rates in Chicago drop by 43% and this is most likely due to lawbreakers being caught by the sickness. October also turns out to be the deadliest month of 1918, with over 195,000 victims dieing to influenza. -
Celebrating the end of WW1
30,000 San Franciscans celebrate the end of WW1. Most people wear face masks to prevent themselves from getting infected.
