5 ms·

We're already at 780K deaths globally with COVID, and flu season hasn't hit yet. 3.6K died yesterday[0], so we're only ~60 days away from 1M deaths, assuming th

We're already at 780K deaths globally with COVID, and flu season hasn't hit yet. 3.6K died yesterday[0], so we're only ~60 days away from 1M deaths, assuming that the death rate doesn't change. How are concrete numbers exaggerated? How are concrete numbers not fact? Neither of those figures you posted seem out of the realm of possibility here, we're still in the middle of this pandemic that will continue on for many more months. It's kinda hard to compare previous viruses in their totality when we're still seeing thousands dying every day, no? 0: https://ncov2019.live/ https://ncov2019.live/

matz1 6y ago
780K out of 7.8 billion = 0.01% that is very low and over time death rate will be lower because of increasing number of immunity on the population and better method of treatment.
- jquery 6y ago
  You’re right, but many people are too emotional right now to have a reasoned discussion. They read fear-porn all day about COVID-19, thinking that it’s super-aids + cancer combined. What they often don’t know is the death rate is only 3x that of the flu (since treatments have improved) and the average age at death is 78 years old.
mikem170 6y ago
My apologies, my mention of exaggerations and paucity of facts was a bit off the cuff, I didn't do a good job of explaining myself. I was replying to your remark that "It’s unarguably the worst public health crisis in 100 years". Which just isn't true. It's exaggerations like this I was referring to. The flu in 1918, 1957, and 1968 were worse. If not for vaccinations the flu is a more scary disease than coronavirus - it mutates yearly, has just as much if not a worse fatality rate than covid, and causes long-term damage as often or more so. Malaria is far worse, I just heard that 3000 children die of that every day. Then there's HIV, diabetes, heart disease, etc. Through this pandemic headlines seem to always feature worst case scenarios, numbers without context, etc. This is a statistically complex subject, a moving target, and our brains are not wired for dispassionate risk assessment.
- mikem170 6y ago
  Quick example form today: "Hong Kong man 'first case' documented of getting coronavirus twice" [0] This article has quotes by multiple experts saying that this is good news, that the immune system fought off the reinfection, the person was asymptomatic, and this is how you'd expect an immune system to fight off a coronavirus. In fact, this is all normal for a coronavirus. Experts predicted this would lessen in severity and probably end up like the common cold, or appear intermittently like a bad flu year. [1] [0] https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/24/health/covid-19-reinfection-hong-kong-study/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/24/health/covid-19-reinfection-h... [1] https://www.statnews.com/2020/02/04/two-scenarios-if-new-coronavirus-isnt-contained/ https://www.statnews.com/2020/02/04/two-scenarios-if-new-cor...

matz1 6y ago

780K out of 7.8 billion = 0.01% that is very low and over time death rate will be lower because of increasing number of immunity on the population and better method of treatment.

jquery 6y ago
You’re right, but many people are too emotional right now to have a reasoned discussion. They read fear-porn all day about COVID-19, thinking that it’s super-aids + cancer combined. What they often don’t know is the death rate is only 3x that of the flu (since treatments have improved) and the average age at death is 78 years old.

mikem170 6y ago

My apologies, my mention of exaggerations and paucity of facts was a bit off the cuff, I didn't do a good job of explaining myself. I was replying to your remark that "It’s unarguably the worst public health crisis in 100 years". Which just isn't true. It's exaggerations like this I was referring to. The flu in 1918, 1957, and 1968 were worse. If not for vaccinations the flu is a more scary disease than coronavirus - it mutates yearly, has just as much if not a worse fatality rate than covid, and causes long-term damage as often or more so. Malaria is far worse, I just heard that 3000 children die of that every day. Then there's HIV, diabetes, heart disease, etc. Through this pandemic headlines seem to always feature worst case scenarios, numbers without context, etc. This is a statistically complex subject, a moving target, and our brains are not wired for dispassionate risk assessment.

mikem170 6y ago
Quick example form today: "Hong Kong man 'first case' documented of getting coronavirus twice" [0] This article has quotes by multiple experts saying that this is good news, that the immune system fought off the reinfection, the person was asymptomatic, and this is how you'd expect an immune system to fight off a coronavirus. In fact, this is all normal for a coronavirus. Experts predicted this would lessen in severity and probably end up like the common cold, or appear intermittently like a bad flu year. [1] [0] https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/24/health/covid-19-reinfection-hong-kong-study/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/24/health/covid-19-reinfection-h... [1] https://www.statnews.com/2020/02/04/two-scenarios-if-new-coronavirus-isnt-contained/ https://www.statnews.com/2020/02/04/two-scenarios-if-new-cor...