5 ms·

I have had a couple of physician friends describe it as “just a really nasty flu” as well. However, I couldn’t square it with the seriousness with which I was s

I have had a couple of physician friends describe it as “just a really nasty flu” as well. However, I couldn’t square it with the seriousness with which I was seeing th authorities address it. That’s when I realized, that the comparison is misleading. For example, you could describe a lion as “just a really nasty cat”, but that wouldn’t be doing it justice. If the 2% fatality rate is accurate, compared to the flu’s 0.1%. That is 20x worse. The other scary part is that we don’t yet know if this virus is going to be seasonal like the flu.

ArnoVW 7y ago
The dissonance comes from three aspects: 1) people selfishly reason from their point of view: "there is a 2% chance I'll die". But it is more than 10% for those aged 70+. 2) people don't think systemic and forget second-order effect s. If the health system can't handle everyone being sick at the same time, it's not 2% but much more. Moreover, anyone requiring intensive care will be subject to triage, not just Corona cases. 3) people forget the health impact after healing (diminished lung functions due to fibrosis, etc)