How does coronavirus compare to other pandemics?

Encyclopedia of Opinion

Question: How does coronavirus compare to other pandemics?
Position‹2 of 6›: Spanish Influenza is the worst pandemic in history
Argument1 of 2›: WWI helped to spread the pandemic

WWI meant that people were moving around much more than ever.

The argument

Recent research suggests that WWI essentially acted as an incubator for Spanish Influenza. The outbreak could have originated from the trenches and while those with mild cases would have stayed at war, containing the disease, those with more severe cases would have been sent home, spreading the disease all over the world. Once the war ended, those with undetectable cases would have returned home, spreading the disease further. Additionally, in general during and immediately after WWI people were moving between countries far more than ever. Therefore, even those without symptoms could have spread the disease without realising. Spanish flu was one of the first 'global' pandemics, while previous pandemics had been contained mostly to countries or continents.

Premises

[P1]WWI acted as an incubator for Spanish Influenza, with severe cases sent home from the trenches spreading the disease worldwide. [P2] Unprecedented wartime movement between countries let even asymptomatic soldiers spread it as they returned home. [P3] This made Spanish flu one of the first truly global pandemics, unlike earlier ones contained to single countries or continents. [C] Therefore, because WWI helped spread it so widely, Spanish Influenza is the worst pandemic in history.

Counter-arguments

WWI could have actually protected thousands of people from the disease. Many men would have built up antibodies from being around the virus for such an extended period while in combat.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The origin is not settled: the trenches are one proposed source among several, and the premise presents a hypothesis as established. The mechanism it describes — mild cases retained at the front, severe cases evacuated — is likewise argued rather than demonstrated. [Rejecting P2] Wartime movement explains reach, which is not what the conclusion needs. Spreading widely is not the same as being the worst, and the position has to be measured against its rivals — plague, smallpox, HIV/AIDS — on deaths, duration and share of population, none of which the premises address. [Rejecting P3] Earlier pandemics were not confined to single countries or continents: plague travelled from Asia across the Middle East and Europe, and smallpox crossed the Atlantic with European contact, so the claim of a first truly global pandemic overstates the contrast.