A mix of science and common sense to see us through abyss

Country Living with Francis Farragher

It’s a little debate over recent years that now seems so innocent in the context of what has been happening over the past 11 months – namely poring over the pros and cons of whether one should get the flu injection or not. There were those who said they had sore arms for a time after the flu injection and also swore that they developed flu symptoms for a few days afterward: some insisted they would never bother with it.

My claim to fame about the reaction to the flu jab came a couple of months when I thought my arm and shoulder seemed a tad sore after getting the prod, only to realise a few days later that the tender spot was on ‘the other shoulder’.

One way or another, it didn’t seem to be a matter of life and death, whether the jab was got or not, although the medical evidence is there, that we’ll refer to as ‘standard influenza’, can deliver quite a knock-out blow.

I cannot recall one person I’ve met over recent times who got the flu and just at a cursory glance, there seems to be very few, if any, flu cases occurring in Ireland this Winter. Possibly, just a little spin-off from our mask wearing, social distancing and staying-at-home way of life that by now, we’ve nearly all got used to.

And yet, I occasionally think back to stories by late father used to relate to me about the Spanish Flu back in 1918 to 1920, and how it had killed millions of people all over the world.

On closer examination, our current Covid crisis – bad and all as it is – probably isn’t a patch on what the world endured in the two years that followed the ending of the first World War in 1918.

When, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the slaughter eventually stopped on the green fields of France and surrounding countries, little did the world realise at the time, that another killing machine had already been launched upon them but had been kept quiet.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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