With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Medical historian urges vaccination

BRIDGEWATER — Dr. Allan Marble hopes to get both his flu shots next week because he knows just how deadly the flu can be.

He is writing a book — his third — on the history of medicine in Nova Scotia. He is the first person to take a look at the impact of the 1918-1919 Spanish flu epidemic on Nova Scotia.

"Nothing had ever been written on it," he said. ""Not one thing. It was the forgotten epidemic."

The Spanish flu killed 1,780 Nova Scotians in six months and a further 300 during its second wave beginning in February 1920.

"It was an H1N1 flu," Dr. Marble said, though it had different characteristics than the one that is currently leaving hundreds of Nova Scotians standing outside for hours waiting to be vaccinated.
Read entire article at The ChronicleHerald.ca