This article aims to map the news and debates that circulated in the press in the context of the outbreak of the Spanish flu in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (Brazil) in the years 1918-1919. We are interested in reflecting on the criticisms and alternatives glimpsed regarding education and care for the population. In Brazil, the Spanish flu was officially declared in October 1918, triggering debates and discussions about the spread, contagion, morbidity, prophylaxis, prevention, and treatment of the disease. Studies were produced by academic and scientific institutions mobilising campaigns and press advertisements. In the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, measures were taken to prevent the spread of the disease, with emphasis on the closing of schools, factories, theatres, and cinemas, as well as the promotion of campaigns on hygienic and prophylactic means to be observed by the population. The suspension of classes occurred through a protocol decision by the public health authorities, in many cases transforming school buildings into hospitals. The documentary sources used in the preparation of the article are printed materials available in the Digital Library of the National Library and the newspaper "O Estado de São Paulo," in which we highlight notices, news, and advertisements, especially between 1918 and 1919, as well as reports, books, and medical-scientific magazines.