1918 Spanish Flu & Covid-19: Mumbai hospital that has witnessed 2 pandemics

More than 100 years before Covid-19 hit us, the world had experienced a deadly pandemic. At that time, Masina Hospital in Mumbai was among the few private hospitals to admit patients infected with the 1918 H1 flu—commonly called the Spanish flu. With passage of time, memories of Spanish flu have faded. But Masina Hospital CEO, Dr Vispi Jokhi, tells Nivedita Mookerji that the effort to conserve records is on, especially after Covid-19. Among other things, Dr Jokhi talks about oxygen as a treatment to the flu patients then and the evidence around it. In 1918, there was no vaccine. Masks and distancing—the protocols being advocated now—were the only refuge. And, like he says, every pandemic has an end, whether it’s the Spanish flu or Covid-19.