“History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes,” said Mark Twain. In reviewing events of the pandemic that still lingers over the United States like a miasma, echoes of the past may start to sound like warning sirens.

Why It’s Newsworthy: In the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic has featured, among other things: a rise in hate crimes, economic struggles, and medical quarantines. All of these can be observed at other prominent points in history, and calling upon those similarities may provide solutions moving forward.

A Tale of Two Pandemics (1918)

“The Spanish Flu, you probably know the story, right?” asked Dr. Brian Drake, a professor at the University of Georgia specializing in environmental history.

(Timeline/Ally Gray, For more information, go to the CDC 1918 Pandemic Timeline)

Much like the coronavirus, the 1918 influenza pandemic swept across the globe. Sickening one-third of the world’s population, or about 500 million people, this was the most severe pandemic of the 20th century. At least 50 million people, including 675,000 Americans, were killed by the end of the pandemic’s two year run.

Although there is no universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, “it has really nothing to do with Spain,” Dr. Drake explained. Spain was neutral during World War I (1914-1918) meaning it wasn’t subject to censorship of the press like many European countries during the time. It was able to report on the severity of the pandemic, “so a lot of the stories about the flu in Europe came out of Spain,” said Dr. Drake. 

Caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin, there was little doctors could do to care for the sick. No test, vaccine, or breathing machines existed at the time, the virus claimed the lives of healthy people with high mortality rates among those 20 to 40 years old. 

Dr. Drake often quotes Mark Twain to his students telling them that, “history doesn’t repeat, it rhymes.” The responses to the coronavirus pandemic are eerily similar to how officials and civilians responded to the influenza pandemic in 1918. Take a look at the timeline to see how the two compare. 

Epidemic vs. Pandemic (1980s)

The coronavirus pandemic is not the only disease outbreak since 1918 to drastically alter lives on a mass scale and change the course of history. The AIDS crisis of the 1980s disproportionately impacted the LGBTQ+ community, and similarities between the two have lingered over the community for the past year and a half.

Both of these diseases ended up with a scapegoat in a minority group; AIDS, of course, with the LGBTQ+ community, and COVID-19 with the Asian American population in the United States.

With the AIDS crisis, it was initially believed that it was a disease only found in gay men, hence why it was known as GRID—gay related immunodeficiency. In 1986, the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project reported 351 incidences of violence, from verbal assault to homicide, in the first nine months of the year, more than twice of what was reported by that time in the previous year.

The organization also reported that in 28% of all incidents reported in 1985, victims were mocked about AIDS. 

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic saw similar increases in violence toward Asian Americans. Anti-Asian hate crimes rose above 73% in 2020, with a total of 279 incidences reported to the FBI. However, the website Stop AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Hate reported nearly 3,000 incidences of anti-Asian discrimination from March to December 2020.

In a similar vein to AIDS being referred to as GRID, COVID-19 has also been referred to as the “China virus” or “kung flu.”. The video below compares a 1982 press conference under the Reagan administration with a Trump rally in 2020.

(Video/Vesper Henry)

The role of health care workers was important in both events. Throughout the pandemic, health care workers across the country have faced incredible strain both physically and mentally, but have also been declared heroes in the face of the crisis.

But so were some nurses during the AIDS crisis—lesbian nurses specifically. Groups like the “Blood Sisters” were among the few people willing to volunteer as nurses to treat ailing gay men, and as their name entails, they donated blood as well.

This movement was so prominent that the community changed its acronym from GLBT to LGBT as a subtle nod to the role lesbians played during a critical time.

The major difference, according to Jamey Watson, a surgical technician and a board member of Athens-based AIDS charity Boybutante, is COVID-19 workers having the backing of their administration, while the nurses during the AIDS crisis had to work with what they had.

In another similarity, Moderna, one of the three major distributors of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S., will soon begin human trials for what could be a “functioning cure” to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, based on the same mRNA technology used in its COVID-19 vaccines.

The Human Rights Campaign released survey results in August stating that around 92% of LGBTQ adults had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Among adults 55 and over, who would have been around 18 at the time of the AIDS crisis, that percentage is closer to 94%.

Jamey Watson is one of many who believes a factor of this high vaccination rate is the lingering memory of the AIDS crisis, especially among the older adults. 

A Plague of Hate (2001)

(Timeline/Drew Hubbard)

One day, Sofia Ahmed Mohamed, a sophomore international affairs major at the University of Georgia, was walking through north campus when, she says,  someone in a truck drove by and shouted ‘towel head’ in reference to her hijab. 

This is just one instance of islamophobia that some Muslims have encountered in the United States, most of which, according to Mohamed, is rooted in the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. 

“I think it's still very prevalent,” Mohamed said. “It's just those Islamophobic sentiments post- 9/11 that kind of created this identity crisis that we're having today.” 

According to the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer, Muslims have experienced the second-highest number  of hate crimes in the last 10 years. There have been 1,932 instances of anti-Muslim hate crimes, second to anti-Jewish hate crimes with 7,688 accounts. 

Mohamed was born in Atlanta, and has lived in Georgia her entire life. Despite this, she said she doesn't feel “American enough” due to the way Muslims are perceived. 

“There have been certain times where you're still looked at weird, you're like not considered an American,” Mohamed said. “In all honesty, and it's been a conversation I've been having with myself, ‘Am I American? Where do I fit in on this spectrum?’” 

Just as Muslims continue to face prejudice due to 9/11, the Asian community is facing similar struggles due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

COVID-19 is reported to have origins in a food market in Wuhan, China, according to CNN. The beginning of the virus led to an outbreak of negative actions toward people of Chinese and Asian descent, including former President Donald Trump who referred to the virus as “Kung Flu’ and the “China Flu.” 

The virus beginning in China led to an increased number of anti-Asian hate, just as 9/11 increased anti-Muslim hate. The hate crimes in 2020 toward people of Asian descent were the highest since 2001. 

“I think post-9/11, a lot of people weren't really talking about how it affected the Muslim community,” Mohamed said. “I think the same thing with Asians with the Asian community, it's like no one is really talking about their needs.” 

The rise in hate crimes for both groups of people can lead to individuals having identity crises because many people do not consider people of Asian or Muslim descent Americans, Mohamed said. 

“If you just look less American, in a sense, if you're visibly from a different place or a culture, it's just that same hatred that people are seeing,” Mohamed said “It's ‘Okay, you're to blame for this issue.’” 

Rather than the country coming together and working to build a better future, Mohamed said Americans place blame on other cultures for events. 

“It's just like this us versus them mentality,” Mohamed said.

This idea was confirmed by UGA Sociology professor, Dr. Anna Rogers.

“When there is trauma, there is a human reaction or kind of a gut reaction to, ‘who do we blame for this? Whose fault is this that this is happening to us?’ And in a lot of those past traumas, we've been able to kind of create a scapegoat from people not in the United States,” Rogers said.

While the two instances both resulted in a rise in hate crimes toward a group of people, Mohamed said she believes it is not a battle of oppression between the events, and both issues are equally important. 

“The most important thing you can do is educate yourself on both communities and how both crises have impacted both of those communities separately,” Mohamed said. 

Mental and Monetary Drainage (2008)

The COVID-19 pandemic saw a worldwide shut down and the loss of countless jobs, and with it came an onslaught of mental health issues. But to those who remember 2008, this wasn’t anything new. The Great Recession brought similar mental health and economic issues. In the United States and around the world, people couldn’t afford to go anywhere and many lost their jobs, homes and lifestyles. 

From March to September 2020, more than 8 in 10 people using Mental Health America’s screening tool scored at severe levels of anxiety and depression.

As for the 2008 recession, Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) reported two tests where overall samples averaged at around 12% having “clinically significant” symptoms of depression, and about 3% of the sample having “clinically significant” symptoms of anxiety.

But the more an individual was impacted by the recession, the higher those results were. Experiencing four or more impacts resulted in about 22-24% of people experiencing the same symptoms of depression, and around 7% of people experiencing the same symptoms of anxiety.

Throughout both recessions, people with disabilities and mental illness struggled with getting employment and government help. According to CommonWealthFund, 7.7 million people lost their jobs along with their health insurance during the pandemic.

“Research suggests that cash assistance should be combined with Earned Income Tax Credit expansion, workforce training, and early education programs. However, for Earned Income Tax Credit expansion and workforce training programs to be effective, jobs must be available and accommodations must be made for those who cannot work” said authors of Lessons from the 2008 Great Recession, Wasie Karim,  Emilie Courtin and Peter A Muennig.

The article also noted how society can help combat health and economic disparities in the future. More robust programs could improve the quality of education children receive and make it possible for parents to work more without having to worry about childcare. One trial provided evidence that better quality education is a determinant of adult health. 

“Overall, the program produced increased receipt of a general equivalency diploma, vocational certificates, employment, earnings, and self-reported health. It also produced decreased involvement in the criminal justice system and modest reductions in the receipt of public assistance over the study's four-year follow-up period” wrote Wasie Karim,  Emilie Courtin and Peter A Muennig.

Those programs being implemented in a post-COVID world could be a start to bridge the gaps in income disparities. Throughout history, people who have low incomes have been hit hardest in recessions, especially those with mental health issues and physical disabilities. 

An Overall Resolution to Trauma

These life-altering events, past and present, are undeniably traumatic. Riddled with mass death, violence, economic hardship and costly tolls on mental health, these events have brought collective trauma on several generations in the United States.

(Video/Ally Gray)

One study presented to the World Health Organization suggests that arts-based programs have a strong potential to improve mental health, as well as other health considerations.

Another survey from The Academy of Medical Sciences reported a number of solutions that were being taken to preserve mental health:

Solutions according to The Academy of Medical Sciences

• Staying Connected

• Practicing Mindfulness

• Engaging in Physical Activity

• Limiting Media Consumption

• Maintaining a Routine

Telehealth has also exploded since the start of the pandemic, potentially opening up access to people who may not have otherwise had such resources. However, more research is needed in its adequacy to manage mental health concerns.

Furthermore, some calls to action have been made for government interventions on racial and socio-economic disparities, which could consequently improve the overall mental health of these marginalized populations.

Vesper Henry is a senior journalism major with a minor in political science. Quincey Durham is a senior journalism major. Drew Hubbard is a senior journalism major with a minor in sport management. Ally Gray is a fifth year majoring in journalism with a minor in design and media and a certificate in new media.