Health
History Isn’t Entirely Repeating Itself in Covid’s Aftermath
Five years after Covid-19 shut down activities all over the world, medical historians sometimes struggle to place the pandemic in context.
What, they are asking, should this ongoing viral threat be compared with?
Is Covid like the 1918 flu, terrifying when it was raging but soon relegated to the status of a long-ago nightmare?
Is it like polio, vanquished but leaving in its wake an injured but mostly unseen group of people who suffer long-term health consequences?
Or is it unique in the way it has spawned a widespread rejection of public health advice and science itself, attitudes that some fear may come to haunt the nation when the next major illness arises?
Some historians say it is all of the above, which makes Covid stand out in the annals of pandemics.
In many ways, historians say, the Covid pandemic — which the World Health Organization declared on March 11, 2020 — reminds them of the 1918 flu. Both were terrifying, killing substantial percentages of the population, unlike, say, polio or Ebola or H.I.V., terrible as those illnesses were.
The 1918 flu killed 675,000 people out of a U.S. population of 103 million, or 65 out of every 10,000. Covid has so far killed about 1,135,000 Americans out of a population of 331.5 million, or 34 out of every 10,000.
Both pandemics dominated the news every day while they raged. And both were relegated to the back of most people’s minds as the numbers of infections and deaths fell.
J. Alexander Navarro, a medical historian at the University of Michigan, said that in the fall of 1918, when the nation was in the throes of the deadliest wave of the 1918 flu, “newspapers were chock-full of stories about influenza, detailing daily case tallies, death tolls, edicts and recommendations issued by officials.”
During the next year, the virus receded. And so did the nation’s attention.
There were no memorials for flu victims, no annual days of remembrance.
“The nation simply moved on,” Dr. Navarro said.
Much the same thing happened with Covid, historians say, although it took longer for the virus’s harshest effects to recede.
Most people live as though the threat is gone, with deaths a tiny fraction of what they once were.
In the week of Feb. 15, 273 Americans died of Covid. In the last week of 2021, 10,476 Americans died from Covid.
Interest in the Covid vaccine has plummeted, too. Now just “a measly 23 percent of adults” have gotten the updated vaccine, Dr. Navarro noted.
Remnants of Covid remain — lasting financial effects, lags in educational achievement, casual dress, Zoom meetings, a desire to work from home. But few think of Covid as they go about their daily lives.
Dora Vargha, a medical historian at the University of Exeter, noted that there had been no ongoing widespread effort to memorialize Covid deaths. Instead, with Covid, “people disappeared into hospitals and never came out.”
Now it is only their friends and families who remember.
Dr. Vargha called that response understandable. People, she said, do not want to be “dragged back” into memories of those Covid years.
But some, like those suffering from long Covid, can’t forget. In that sense, she sees parallels with other pandemics that, unlike the 1918 flu, left a swath of people who were permanently affected.
People who contracted paralytic polio in the 1950s described themselves to Dr. Vargha as “the dinosaurs,” reminders of the time before the vaccine, when the virus was killing or paralyzing children.
Every pandemic has its dinosaurs, she said. They are the Zika babies living with microcephaly. They are the people, often at the margins of society, who develop AIDS.They are the people who contract tuberculosis.
But despite the pleas from those who cannot forget Covid and who seek more research, more empathy, more attention, the more pervasive attitude is, “We don’t need to care anymore,” said Mary Fissell, a historian at Johns Hopkins University.
That sounds so callous, and yet, said Dr. Barron Lerner, a historian at NYU Langone Health, in the world of public health “there are always people who are left behind — damaged or still at risk.”
“It’s hurtful” for people to be shunted aside, Dr. Lerner said. “Their lives are altered. The attention you feel their situation warrants is downplayed.”
But, he added, “on a realistic basis, there are any number of things to study.” Resources are limited, he noted, adding, “it can make sense to move on.”
One aspect of the Covid pandemic, though, is still with the nation, and seems to be part of a new reality: It has markedly changed attitudes toward public health.
Kyle Harper, a historian at the University of Oklahoma, said he would give the biomedical response to Covid an A-plus. “The rollout of vaccines was incredible,” he said.
But, he said, “I would give the social response a C-minus.”
Dr. Lerner had the same thought.
Few medical experts, he said, expected so much resistance to measures like masks, quarantines, social distancing and — when they became available — vaccines and vaccine mandates.
With Covid, he said, “compared to other pandemics, the amount of pushback to standard public health practices was remarkable.”
“That sets Covid apart,” he said. Public health measures that had worked in the past were rejected.
Some of the pushback was reasonable, he said, like objections to wearing masks outdoors. But the spurning of public health measures was widespread and politicized.
Dr. Navarro agreed and said the contrast with 1918 was striking.
“In 1918, there was an abiding respect for science and medicine that seems lacking today,” he said. There were pockets of resistance to measures like masking and avoiding large groups. But for the most part, he said, people complied with public health advice. And compliance was divorced from politics.
World War I also played a role in the messaging, Dr. Navarro said, which may have bolstered adherence.
“Public health orders and recommendations often purposely used the same language that was used to drum up support for the war effort,” Dr. Navarro said. The authorities, for example, asked people “to cover their coughs and sneezes so as not to gas their fellow citizens as the doughboys were being gassed by the Germans.”
Dr. Lerner contrasted the Covid response to the response to the polio vaccine.
The polio vaccine underwent preliminary testing, and then widespread testing, in the 1950s, with broad public acceptance.
With Covid, “faith in the scientific process got lost,” Dr. Lerner said.
That does not bode well for the next pandemic, Dr. Harper said.
“There’s going to be another pandemic,” he said. “And if we have to fight it without public trust, that’s the worst possible response.”
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Getting a full eight hours of sleep and still feeling drowsy? Sleep experts say it’s not just about how much shuteye you get.
Dr. Wendy Troxel, a licensed clinical psychologist and senior behavioral scientist at RAND based in Utah, emphasized the “really important distinction” between quantity and quality of sleep.
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“Many people will say, ‘Man, I’m sleeping enough, I got seven to eight hours of sleep, but I still wake up feeling groggy and not refreshed,’” she told Fox News Digital during an in-studio interview. “About one in three adults has non-restorative sleep quality.”
Sleep quality could be making you feel groggy, despite the number of hours you slept, an expert said. (iStock)
“There are many factors that can contribute to poor sleep quality, regardless of how many hours you slept,” Troxel noted.
These include drinking alcohol — a “major contributor” to poor quality or disrupted sleep — and consuming caffeine late in the day.
Being stressed or feeling worried about something can also contribute to fragmented sleep, as can phone use at bedtime.
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Troxel addressed the belief that women need more sleep than men, noting that research does support it — though only slightly, by about 10 to 15 extra minutes per night.
“What we absolutely know is that women’s sleep quality often suffers more than men’s,” she said. “They may be getting more non-restorative sleep quality, therefore needing slightly more sleep.”
Women are also twice as likely to have insomnia compared to men, and their risk for sleep disturbances “skyrockets” during the menopausal transition.
Women suffer from poorer sleep quality than men, according to the expert. (iStock)
For those who claim they sleep better with fewer hours of sleep — and feel sleepier when they get the recommended seven to nine hours — Troxel said this is not an indicator that they actually require less shuteye. “It’s simply that their body is not used to it,” she said.
Laboratory studies have shown that sleep deprivation causes impairments in judgment, according to the expert. “That means someone who thinks they’re fine with only four hours of sleep per night likely isn’t aware of the impact sleep deprivation has on their cognition and performance.”
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For those getting less than the recommended amount, Troxel recommends taking small steps toward sleeping longer. That might mean adding about 15 minutes each night to see how it impacts the body, eventually getting into a healthier circadian rhythm.
“You will likely see benefits when you increase your sleep in small increments,” she said.
The expert recommends adding a few extra minutes of sleep each night to work up to a longer duration of rest. (iStock)
Tips for better quality sleep
Quality sleep hinges on following a healthy lifestyle and a consistent sleep-wake schedule, according to experts.
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Eating a nutritious diet free of foods that cause upset stomach or indigestion, especially in the late evening hours, can help improve sleep quality, Troxel shared.
“You don’t want to be starving at bedtime, but you also don’t want to be trying to fall asleep on a full stomach while your body’s still actively digesting,” she said.
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Exercise helps to promote quality sleep, just as sleep also improves exercise quality. However, it’s best to avoid vigorous physical activity too close to bedtime, Troxel advised.
“Exercise is very stimulating, particularly if it’s in a social environment, and that can disrupt sleep,” she said. “Exercising earlier in the day is better.”
“Those who are natural morning people are more likely to benefit from exercising earlier,” Troxel said. (iStock)
That doesn’t have to mean working out first thing in the morning, Troxel noted, as not everyone’s circadian rhythm supports early wake-ups for exercise.
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“Those who are natural morning people are more likely to benefit from exercising earlier,” she said. “If you’re a night owl, don’t expect to love doing a workout first thing in the morning. That might not be consistent with your circadian rhythm.”
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Troxel added that people should not be “sleep-shamed” for adhering to their own internal clocks.
“These cultural trends have these subtle, or not-so-subtle, ways of undermining people’s sleep-wake biology, which is largely out of our control,” she said.
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Hundreds of hospitals across the country are being recognized for keeping patients safe, and a handful of states stand out for having the highest number of top performers.
Healthgrades, a platform for finding doctors, health care providers and hospitals, released its 2026 Patient Safety Excellence Awards this month, naming 438 hospitals in 40 states that rank among the top 10% nationwide for patient safety.
The analysis highlights centers that excel at preventing serious, avoidable complications during hospital stays based on 13 patient safety indicators.
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Among all states, five had the highest number of hospitals earning the distinction: Texas, Florida, California, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Hundreds of hospitals across the U.S. were recognized for top patient safety performance in a new report. (iStock)
These states led the nation in total award recipients, with counts ranging from 21 to as many as 62 hospitals, according to Healthgrades data cited by MedPage Today. The concentration of high-performing hospitals in these states may be partly driven by size, the outlet noted.
“The prevalence of recipients in a particular state could be related to something as simple as that state having a large number of hospitals,” a Healthgrades spokesperson told MedPage Today.
Nonetheless, the findings point to strong safety performance across several of the nation’s most populated regions, particularly major metro areas such as Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth and New York City.
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Patients treated at these hospitals saw significantly lower risks for some of the most common and serious safety events that account for the majority of in-hospital complications, according to a news release.
The rankings are based on data measuring 13 patient safety indicators, including infections and complications. (iStock)
Compared to other hospitals, patients at award-winning facilities were 52.4% less likely to experience an in-hospital fall resulting in fracture; 57.5% less likely to suffer a collapsed lung related to procedures; 67.8% less likely to develop catheter-related bloodstream infections; and 71.9% less likely to develop pressure sores.
Those four indicators alone make up about 78% of all patient safety events, according to Healthgrades, and if all hospitals performed at the same level as this year’s recipients, more than 100,000 patient safety events could have been avoided between 2022 and 2024.
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“The data behind this year’s Patient Safety Excellence Award highlights how measurable improvements in safety can prevent thousands of complications,” Dr. Alana Biggers, a medical advisor at Healthgrades, said in a statement.
Hospitals were required to report zero cases of serious errors, such as leaving a foreign object behind during a procedure. (iStock)
“Hospitals that prioritize evidence-based safety practices not only achieve better clinical outcomes but also cultivate a culture where patients come first,” Biggers added. “These insights give individuals and families the information they need to make confident and better informed healthcare decisions.”
The award is based on an analysis of Medicare inpatient data, evaluating outcomes such as complications, mortality and preventable safety events. To qualify, hospitals must meet strict clinical thresholds and report zero cases of certain serious errors, such as leaving a foreign object behind during a procedure.
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Overall, 250 hospitals ranked in the top 5% nationwide for safety, including facilities affiliated with major systems such as Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and HCA Healthcare.
Ten states had no hospitals on the list: Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, North Dakota, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.
Some states had no hospitals on the list, highlighting gaps in access to high-quality care. (iStock)
Experts say factors including rural hospital shortages and “care deserts” may contribute to those gaps because patients in underserved areas often face longer travel times and arrive with more advanced conditions.
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Nearly one-third of this year’s recognized hospitals were new to the list, according to Healthgrades, reflecting continued shifts in hospital performance and safety practices across the country.
The full list of hospitals that received the Patient Safety Excellence Award can be found here.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Healthgrades for additional comment.
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