14. Government response to the Spanish Flu was haphazard
In 1918 there existed no Centers for Disease Control; no National Institute of Health; no Department of Health and Human Services. The response to the spreading virus relied on state and local officials. In some cities, public health commissions were in the hands of doctors, while in others they were politically appointed sinecures. Few in the United States were prepared for the virulence of the Spanish flu. Flu was a common event in the United States, arriving in most of the country in the fall and declining the following spring. Some years presented outbreaks worse than others. In most states, flu was not a reportable illness, with doctors required to notify state authorities of diagnosed cases.
The Spanish Flu changed that for all time. State and federal health agencies tracked flu in the United States ever since, as a result of the three major waves of the Spanish Flu in 1918-19. The health agencies of the time had little in the way of fighting and tracking the virus as it spread, and at any rate, it spread too rapidly, and killed too quickly, for the efforts to have much effect. The overwhelming national response was to isolate those with symptoms from the rest of the population, either in their homes or in hospitals and temporary wards. Newspapers often scorned the efforts of health officials and local governments, siding with the business community which described the scourge as just another form of the flu.