Perhaps the most important part of the entire paper is the final sentence:

> While our findings may be more applicable in some modern circumstances than others (e.g., when a virus is particularly deadly for younger adults and children or when remote learning opportunities are limited), our paper cautions against over-extrapolating from the 1918-19 pandemic when making decisions about optimal policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is unfortunately not going to stop many people or politicians or media outlets from citing this paper as a justification for (or to defend) COVID-19 policies.