Answer:
There were no medications effective against Spanish flu or antibiotics to treat the infections that people got as complications of the flu. There were also no machines to provide mechanical ventilation and no intensive care units.
But During the pandemic influenza outbreak of 1918 known as the “Spanish flu,” fatality rates were cut in half for patients who were treated with blood plasma compared to those who weren’t. The method seemed particularly effective when patients received the antibodies in the early days of their infection, before their own immune systems had a chance to overreact and damage vital organs. In the 1930s, doctors like Gallagher used convalescent plasma effectively against measles.
