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Calling it a pandemic is giving far more credit than is due at this point. It's essentially only lethal to elderly or immunocompromised people. It would need to

Calling it a pandemic is giving far more credit than is due at this point. It's essentially only lethal to elderly or immunocompromised people. It would need to kill [0]220x more people than it already has to even be [1]comparable to the flu. The media is making a huge deal about it, when really the situation calls for more handwashing for everyone, and an n95 mask for those who are or may be infected. [0]https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/coronavirus-deaths-china-cases-slow-live-updates-200303003539680.html https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/coronavirus-deaths-ch... [1]https://www.health.com/condition/cold-flu-sinus/how-many-people-die-of-the-flu-every-year https://www.health.com/condition/cold-flu-sinus/how-many-peo...

mongol 7y ago
We will see. I think it can kill 220x more people than it already has if it continues to spread like it has been doing so far.
- Proziam 7y ago
  With awareness as high as it is already, I think most infected people will seek treatment and for the most part they'll be ok. That's not to say it won't have an impact, and it may very well be worse than the flu, I just don't think it warrants the level of paranoia and fearmongering that the news has been pushing.
gamblor956 7y ago
You can't compare absolute fatality numbers (yet). The flu infects tens of millions of people each year and kills less about 0.2%. (Estimates are between 5%-20% of the US population get the flu each year.) This coronavirus has only infected a few ten thousand people and has killed between 2% and 20% of the infected population (with the larger %s comprising weakened patients, like the elderly with preexisting conditions or people living in a country without a functional healthcare system, like Iran. If the coronavirus scaled up to the number of infections as the flu, millions would die.
- myself248 7y ago
  It drives me nuts when people say that. It's like saying Toyotas are more dangerous than Lamborghinis because look at the fatality numbers! Yeah, but if Ferruccio himself was cavorting through the streets and giving away Aventadors, the numbers would flip in a hell of a hurry. Except even the old man himself couldn't give 'em away as fast as this is spreading.
Spellman 7y ago
It is technically correct to call it a pandemic since it has spread worldwide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandemic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandemic Now, the amount of worry based on the connotations associate with the word "pandemic" might be called overblown due to relative amount of risk of death, hospitalizations, and/or overwhelmed heath services. But the term is being used accurately and appropriately.
- Proziam 7y ago
  True, but the term pandemic comes with added emotional baggage. Most people associate the term with the black plague rather than the flu (which has also been a pandemic several times).
  - Spellman 7y ago
    Correct. And generally the seasonal flu is exempted. The best comparisons would be to the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic of H1N1 pandemic in 2009. Especially H1N1 seems a particularly apt comparison point, even though it had a dramatically lower mortality rate.

mongol 7y ago

We will see. I think it can kill 220x more people than it already has if it continues to spread like it has been doing so far.

Proziam 7y ago
With awareness as high as it is already, I think most infected people will seek treatment and for the most part they'll be ok. That's not to say it won't have an impact, and it may very well be worse than the flu, I just don't think it warrants the level of paranoia and fearmongering that the news has been pushing.

gamblor956 7y ago

You can't compare absolute fatality numbers (yet). The flu infects tens of millions of people each year and kills less about 0.2%. (Estimates are between 5%-20% of the US population get the flu each year.) This coronavirus has only infected a few ten thousand people and has killed between 2% and 20% of the infected population (with the larger %s comprising weakened patients, like the elderly with preexisting conditions or people living in a country without a functional healthcare system, like Iran. If the coronavirus scaled up to the number of infections as the flu, millions would die.

myself248 7y ago
It drives me nuts when people say that. It's like saying Toyotas are more dangerous than Lamborghinis because look at the fatality numbers! Yeah, but if Ferruccio himself was cavorting through the streets and giving away Aventadors, the numbers would flip in a hell of a hurry. Except even the old man himself couldn't give 'em away as fast as this is spreading.

Spellman 7y ago

It is technically correct to call it a pandemic since it has spread worldwide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandemic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandemic Now, the amount of worry based on the connotations associate with the word "pandemic" might be called overblown due to relative amount of risk of death, hospitalizations, and/or overwhelmed heath services. But the term is being used accurately and appropriately.

Proziam 7y ago
True, but the term pandemic comes with added emotional baggage. Most people associate the term with the black plague rather than the flu (which has also been a pandemic several times).
- Spellman 7y ago
  Correct. And generally the seasonal flu is exempted. The best comparisons would be to the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic of H1N1 pandemic in 2009. Especially H1N1 seems a particularly apt comparison point, even though it had a dramatically lower mortality rate.