It started among American troops and exploded into a flu pandemic that killed 675,000 people in the US. Like President Donald Trump, President Woodrow Wilson's administration downplayed the pandemic. "National public health leaders said things like, 'This is ordinary influenza by another name.' The federal government was so small in that era, he said, it had a limited role in public health. But back then, Americans who did not wear masks were not making a political statement.

Source: CNN October 03, 2020 09:56 UTC