In September of 1918, Philadelphia held a Liberty Loan parade – an event to boost bond selling and thus help the U.S. World War I effort. The parade’s organizers were expecting around 10,000 people, but in the end 200,000 attended. At that time, there were already cases of the Spanish flu pandemic in Philadelphia. Some physicians raised concerns about fostering a local outbreak, but the public could feel that the war was ending and canceling the parade would be a highly unpopular measure.
To read more of the May 2020 Valve World Americas article, please contact Brittani Schroeder (b.schroeder@kci-world.com) for the full PDF.