I don't think your neighborhood and a couple random people on reddit of all places offer a full glimpse of the world at large, especially considering the diseas

I don't think your neighborhood and a couple random people on reddit of all places offer a full glimpse of the world at large, especially considering the disease has hotspots with high infection rates while other people are mostly avoiding those places. Conversely, I've never had influenza in my life, and I don't recall seeing anyone close to me ever actively suffering from a bad case influenza. I still believe it exists and people who got hit hard by it are probably at home.