The parent comment should remind us that regular flu is already pretty bad in its symptoms and in the number who die from it each year. A “bad flu” can be very

The parent comment should remind us that regular flu is already pretty bad in its symptoms and in the number who die from it each year. A “bad flu” can be very bad indeed: e.g., 1968, 1957, 1918. [1] Moreover, using excess deaths to quantify COVID-19 vs. regular flu, the numbers are concerning even with all our efforts to contain this coronavirus and avoid overwhelming hospitals. [2] [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza#Pandemics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza#Pandemics [2]: https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/07/15/tracking-covid-19-excess-deaths-across-countries https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/07/15/tracking... (The heat map in [2] titled “Weekly estimated excess deaths by age group” shows excess deaths in Europe this year vs. the past three years.)