The results of this study show that excess mortality in Italy during the 1918 influenza pandemic was much higher than the excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. GLO:OCQ/01sep21:jmv27052-fig-0001.jpg PHOTO (COLOR): 1 Mortality rate ratio (MRR) in Italy during the 1918 Flu and coronavirus disease pandemics, compared with the corresponding 5 previous years gl The elderly appear to be a particularly vulnerable group during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Informing the global COVID-19 response by estimating excess deaths in Italy during the COVID-19 and 1918 influenza pandemics.