It's not the rate that matters. It's the actual number of deaths.
SO FAR, this flu season, the CDC attributes 20,000 to 52,000 deaths to the flu in the US alone. Coronavirus has killed a tenth of that worldwide. So, no. Coronavirus is NOT anywhere near as bad as the regular flu.
The flu also did not face the same interventions as covid. No one has been isolated because of the flu, so it has reached far wider. What would the death rate look like without the quarantines, preventative testing of contacts and medical interventions?
Also the proportion of people hospitalised is far higher, with 10% or so needing oxygen. You don't get those numbers with the flu...
We don't know number of infected. We only know number of infected with symptoms bad enough to go get checked out.
Cruise ships with known infected groups are biased towards older people.
This illness appears to be asymptomatic for many, and that means it's probably a lot more widespread than we think.
I was in the Bradley International Terminal last week. For all I know I'm infected. Maybe I will have to be hospitalized, and therefore be tested. If I never present symptoms more than a cold, I'm not going to a doctor. I'll just assume I've got a cold. I won't be included in denominator for death rate.
I think erring on the side of caution is a good thing. I also think that the media is blowing this way out of proportion so that they can scare people and therefore get more ratings and eyeballs on their stupid f ads. They certainly did that with the swine flu didn't they?
what I really resent is how this journalist who has no medical qualifications to speak of nor solid data to work off of is sitting here acting as if they are an authority more than anyone else. They aren't.
here's something else that you're not seeing in the media except for government-run outlets like Australian broadcasting corporation: children are safe from the Corona virus. They only present mild symptoms and this is based on what's been reported by Chinese authorities. I have yet to see any TV media outlets in the United States mention this at all. Instead it's all fear-mongering because that's what they do to make money.
Sorry for the amp link below but Google f sucks these days.
5 comments
[ 10.6 ms ] story [ 166 ms ] threadSO FAR, this flu season, the CDC attributes 20,000 to 52,000 deaths to the flu in the US alone. Coronavirus has killed a tenth of that worldwide. So, no. Coronavirus is NOT anywhere near as bad as the regular flu.
Also the proportion of people hospitalised is far higher, with 10% or so needing oxygen. You don't get those numbers with the flu...
We don't know number of infected. We only know number of infected with symptoms bad enough to go get checked out.
Cruise ships with known infected groups are biased towards older people.
This illness appears to be asymptomatic for many, and that means it's probably a lot more widespread than we think.
I was in the Bradley International Terminal last week. For all I know I'm infected. Maybe I will have to be hospitalized, and therefore be tested. If I never present symptoms more than a cold, I'm not going to a doctor. I'll just assume I've got a cold. I won't be included in denominator for death rate.
I think erring on the side of caution is a good thing. I also think that the media is blowing this way out of proportion so that they can scare people and therefore get more ratings and eyeballs on their stupid f ads. They certainly did that with the swine flu didn't they?
what I really resent is how this journalist who has no medical qualifications to speak of nor solid data to work off of is sitting here acting as if they are an authority more than anyone else. They aren't.
here's something else that you're not seeing in the media except for government-run outlets like Australian broadcasting corporation: children are safe from the Corona virus. They only present mild symptoms and this is based on what's been reported by Chinese authorities. I have yet to see any TV media outlets in the United States mention this at all. Instead it's all fear-mongering because that's what they do to make money.
Sorry for the amp link below but Google f sucks these days.
https://amp-abc-net-au.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.abc.net.au...