To the Editor:

I found Bill Bonvie’s Commentary column in your Feb. 5 issue of great interest (“Things We Take for Granted Subject to Unexpected Forces). Two years ago, I presented a talk on the 1918 flu at the LBI library. Like Mr. Bonvie, I was surprised at how that very deadly pandemic has left our collective consciousness. Philadelphia was particularly badly affected not long after city officials allowed a Liberty Bond parade to take place, despite the health risk of infection.

February 20, 2020