The generation that won World War 2 came home to the polio epidemic. During the polio epidemic there were numerous community lockdowns, school closings, restrictions on travel, pool closing, theater closings, non-essential business closings, and other restrictions. These World War 2 veterans accepted these restrictions for the good of society until a vaccine arrived in the mid-50s. I find it amusing that you think WW2 veterans would not accept COVID restrictions. In fact, currently, the remaining WW2 veterans are the biggest advocates for people following public health restrictions for the good of society. They think people who won't wear masks are the snowflakes and Karens. It is also interesting to note that the same people who won't wear masks because it infringes on their "liberty" are generally the same clowns who plan to refuse to be vaccinated. Of course, this would have the end effect of ensuring the COVID restrictions stay in place longer.
https://www.aier.org/article/no-lockdowns-the-terrifying-polio-pandemic-of-1949-52/ No Lockdowns: The Terrifying Polio Pandemic of 1949-52 Throughout the country, the quarantining of the sick was deployed in a limited way as one medical response. There were some shutdowns. The CDC reports that “travel and commerce between affected cities were sometimes restricted [by local officials]. Public health officials imposed quarantines (used to separate and restrict the movement of well people who may have been exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become ill) on homes and towns where polio cases were diagnosed.” President Harry Truman spoke frequently about the need for a national mobilization against polio. But what he meant by this was to rally people to be cautious, follow medical guidelines, isolate the infected, and get the medical community inspired to find means of treatment and cure. Though there was no cure, and no vaccine, there was a long incubation period before symptoms would reveal themselves, and while there was a great deal of confusion about how it was transmitted, the thought of locking down an entire state, nation, or world was inconceivable. The concept of a universal “shelter in place” order was nowhere imaginable. Efforts to impose “social distancing” were selective and voluntary.
The restrictions for polio were done by city, state, and county. Same as today as for COVID. There are no national level lockdowns in the U.S. for COVID, polio or the 1918 flu. Your text is basically outlining that the response to polio is not different than for COVID today. But back then we did not have a President calling polio a hoax and urging people not to follow the best public health practices.
The premise of the article was that any lockdown, which were few and those that did were only done for short periods of time, was aimed at separating the sick, not isolating the healthy. The thought of a national or even state wide lockdown for any length if time was inconceivable.
It doesn't matter. Your comparison is a completely asinine one. You are subjectively saying that COVID is as bad as Polio, and because of this ridiculous analogy, you are suggesting the hardened culture from WWII would accept the restrictions imposed by the government over something as mild (comparatively) as COVID. This is total bullshit. On any level. Polio was far deadlier and far more crippling to people, and - here's the kicker - far more visible in impact. It maimed and disfigured children, and killed adults. It had been going on for decades and people were naturally cautious of it and avoided pools (it was thought at one point to transmit through water) and theatres, etc. Polio caused paralysis in 1 out of every 1000 children. Permanent paralysis. Contrast that to today's COVID where children are almost completely and totally unaffected, and where the average age of death for COVID is something like 82.4 years. There were some shutdowns due to outbreaks of polio, but by and large the country experienced no national shutdown or bullshit fear because the media wasn't selling horror stories of hyperbole and panic. And the government exercised the belief in freedom and responsibility. And if you ARE going to try to be such a fool to compare Polio to COVID, then why do you stop there? Why not compare Polio to Swine Flu? Or pneumonia outbreaks? Give it a rest already.
Let's set the record straight.... Polio is far less deadly than COVID. However Polio crippled many more people -- which is very visible. COVID is not mild for at least 18% of cases. It has over a 2% Case Fatality Rate. The U.S. response to the 1918 flu epidemic and the polio epidemic is very similar to the COVID pandemic. There are significant similarities and lessons that should have been learned.