I think we have every chance for another major flu pandemic to occur! The chance for flu to occur on a large scale is possible but not with the death rate of 20%. Twenty percent seems extremely high considering that we have modern medicine and treatments. Most individuals are recommended to get a flu vaccine. Vaccination does help us to reduce the number of cases. In the documentary, we were able to get a better picture on how the flu impacted society as a whole. If we had a flu outbreak, we would be able to see similar events to those of the 1918 flu results. The impacts would cause society as a whole to go into panic. Medicine would come to a shortage. In 2009, the swine flu became a national emergency and we were unable to provide patients with the sufficient amount. This could happen again. I fear we would need to keep this in mind. I feel after this situation, we should be better prepared to handle issues like this.
As I began to think about these factors, I have seen how the CDC has had this on their minds for years now. There is a chance that we could have a pandemic and that doctors and health officials are doing everything in their power to prepare for this. We have grown in our knowledge since 1918 and now would be better equipped to handle another outbreak. I think this is more realistic to have an outbreak of the flu as some strains become resistant to drugs. It would be a little more challenging to predict something new creating a new pandemic though it is not impossible. We need to be on our toes and invested in disease prevention and studies to be able to handle potential outbreaks in our country.
Knox, Richard. “Swine Flu Vaccine Shortage: Why?” NPR, NPR, 26 Oct. 2009, www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114156775.
“How Is Pandemic Flu Different from Seasonal Flu?” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 7 May 2019, www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemicresources/basics/about.html.