Title: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic has Lessons for COVID-19: An Anthropological Perspective

Speaker: Taylor van Doren

The meeting will be held virtually.

RSVP by 2/23/2021 at 5 pm: https://forms.gle/BhQyYeEZXpNbCE659

At around the one-year anniversary of the first major shutdowns in the United States due to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been inundated with countless observations by the media and academics alike about the non-random nature of morbidity – and ultimately mortality – risk due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These observations are rarely framed with an historical perspective in mind, but rather as if the COVID-19 pandemic is a singular event, despite the fact that the social sciences and history show that epidemic events do not occur in silos. Further, anthropological perspectives are rarely heard in the conversation about social determinants of disease spread, social inequalities, and historical precedent for the current moment. In my research on the 1918 influenza pandemic, I use epidemiological transition and biocultural perspectives in anthropology to show, with broad temporal depth, that there is historical precedent for how some social conditions lead to higher risks of morbidity and mortality than others, and further, may hold keys to understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to affect our health and lives for decades beyond the end of the pandemic. Ultimately, this knowledge will help us prepare for inevitable future pandemics by using the ample historical knowledge to prioritize protective measures, resource aid, and community support for the most vulnerable populations.

Taylor van Doren is a PhD candidate in biological anthropology at the University of Missouri. She researches the 1918 influenza pandemic on the island of Newfoundland, and is particularly interested in social inequalities, pathogenic and non-pathogenic co-morbidities that influence differential risk for respiratory disease and mortality, and demography.