Sybil | Georgia
Yeah, I just pinpointed it because you were taking it so seriously. Spanish Flu is the biggest and most recent influenza outbreak, and the flu's regarded as annoyance even pre-vaccine. Most people would shrug it off.
They probably don't have actual influenza. It's probably just an ARI or ILI. They're getting hammered with local microbes: All the stuff people here have built up immunities to or had when they were kids. I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up with pneumonia either, or other complications. I have the bedside manner of a brick, but if you need something done, I'll help. I probably won't get sick. I'm not a nurse or doctor, but viral infection management is sort of a life skill when I'm from.
I'm going to see if this America has a Freedom of Information Act, and I have every plan of requisitioning the contents and viral structures of their vaccines, at the very least.