I’ll bow out on this but the answer is simple....because it didn’t. If it had we would have needed to respond differently.
Because at the current Coronavirus mortality rates, if the same number of people contracted the Coronavirus as the seasonal flu, 80,000 deaths would only be a drop in the bucket. 2 million? 4 million? More?
There is a difference between a seasonal flu and a Pandemic flu. The Spanish Flu of 1918 was pandemic.
From the CDC:
Seasonal Flu: Rates of medical visits, complications,
hospitalizations and death can vary from low to high
CDC estimates that flu-related hospitalizations since 2010 ranged from 140,000 to 710,000, while flu-related deaths are estimated to have ranged from 12,000 to 56,000.
Pandemic Flu: Rates of medical visits, complications, hospitalizations and death can range from moderate to high
Number of deaths could be much higher than seasonal flu (e.g. The estimated U.S. death toll during the
1918 pandemic was approximately 675,000)
How often does it happen?
Seasonal Flu: Happens annually and usually peaks between December and February
Pandemic Flu: Rarely happens (three times in 20th century)
Seasonal Flu: Usually some immunity from previous exposures and influenza vaccination
Pandemic Flu: Most people have little or no immunity because they have no previous exposure to the virus or similar viruses
Seasonal Flu: Vaccine available for annual flu season
Usually, one dose of vaccine is needed for most people
Pandemic Flu: Although the US government maintains a limited stockpile of pandemic vaccine, vaccine may not be available in the early stages of a pandemic
Two doses of vaccine may be needed
So the CDC says since 2010 there have been up to 56,000 Americans die. 675,000 died in 2018. Seasonal flu has a solution. Pandemic normally does not.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/basics/about.html