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1918 influenza pandemic ('Spanish flu') 1918–1920 Worldwide Influenza A virus subtype H1N1: 17–100 million [187] [188] [189] 1918–1922 Russia typhus epidemic: 1918–1922 Russia: Typhus: 2–3 million [190] 1919–1930 encephalitis lethargica epidemic: 1919–1930 Worldwide Encephalitis lethargica: 500,000 [191] [192] [193]
Canadian health officials reported that swine flu is hospitalizing three to four times as many children as regular seasonal flu. [350] On 30 May, New Zealand had 9 confirmed cases and 10 probables. During June cases in New Zealand rose rapidly. On 14 June the Ministry of Health announced a 65% increase in cases in just 24 hours.
As of September 2021, Spain is one of the countries with the highest percentage of its population vaccinated (76% fully vaccinated and 79% with the first dose), [30] while also being one of the countries more in favor of vaccines against COVID-19 (nearly 94% of its population is already vaccinated or wants to be). [31]
In 2020, the first COVID‑19 vaccines were developed and made available to the public through emergency authorizations [210] and conditional approvals. [211] [212] However, immunity from the vaccines was found to wane over time, requiring people to get booster doses of the vaccine to maintain protection against COVID‑19. [210]
The COVID-19 vaccines are widely credited for their role in reducing the severity and death caused by COVID-19. [128] [129] As of March 2023, more than 5.5 billion people had received one or more doses [130] (11.8 billion in total) in over 197 countries. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was the most widely used. [131]
The virus is a novel strain of the influenza virus, [2] for which existing vaccines against seasonal flu provided no protection. A study at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published in May 2009 found that children had no preexisting immunity to the new strain but that adults, particularly those over 60, had some degree of immunity.
US pharmaceutical company Pfizer's vaccines head Nanette Cocero has announced that the company aims to produce 10-20 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine that it is developing with the German company BioNtech for possible emergency use depending on the vaccine trial results. [125]
Due to lockdowns and COVID-19 protocols, many consumers switched to online shopping during the pandemic, which resulted in a 32% increase in e-commerce. This caused an increase in packaging waste. [172] Many online purchases were for essential items; however 45% of shoppers made non-essential purchases, such as clothing.