Dr. A. Cera administering vaccination to ballet dancer Shirley New during 1968 Hong Kong flu pandemic, while behind her wait ballet dancers Nicola Betts, Ana Maria de Gorriz, and Detlef Hoppmann.
Winnipeg Tribune: ‘Hong Kong flu moving west’
The 1968 flu comes to Manitoba
In November 1968 the Winnipeg Tribune newspaper included a report of a new virus hitting institutions in Philadelphia, “including a home for the aged.” As with COVID-19, with this virus there was a higher concern for the elderly as well as people who were immunocompromised. An outbreak had been recorded in Hong Kong in the summer of 1968, and the virus became known as the ‘Hong Kong flu.’ On December 18, the virus made the front pages of the Tribune as it was expected to arrive in Winnipeg by Christmas.