3 ms·

i’m not comparing them but you could say the same for the flu. as there are many people who die from it. it’s all a matter of where you draw the line of risk/r

by ffggvv 6y ago

i’m not comparing them but you could say the same for the flu. as there are many people who die from it. it’s all a matter of where you draw the line of risk/reward

thomasz 6y ago
Our healthcare systems are designed to handle a bad flu season. COVID is different in so far as it's far more deadly, and that it puts a higher burden on the health care systems because the average time spent in an ICU is way longer.
- Izkata 6y ago
  > COVID is different in so far as it's far more deadly It's not really "far more" deadly. The main problem is the lack of immunity and everyone getting it at once.
  - thomasz 6y ago
    Which results in way more deaths.
fweespeech 6y ago
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-e... The estimate for this flu season is 24k to 62k deaths. 246k people have died from Covid so far, despite precautions. Its a substantial difference.
- disgruntledphd2 6y ago
  And flu season hasn't even started. Covid hit after flu season, so those numbers are probably a better case scenario.
clint 6y ago
Its also extremely disappointing that we don't treat the seasonal flu more seriously. People talk about this, it just took a pandemic for most people to pay attention. Folks should be wearing masks when they are or even might be sick with ANY transmissible disease. Its actually pretty insane that pre-covid, folks would go into public and work while endangering who knows how many people (I know a lot of people don't have the option, which is a whole other bag of worms). I find it extremely depressing that people compare this to other easily preventable deaths (I see it often online and from my own family) and say: "See we handle the seasonal flu pretty horribly, why are we trying so hard with COVID-19?"
- mattbk1 6y ago
  My hope is that masks become much more socially acceptable for regular cold/flu after all this.
- el_benhameen 6y ago
  I heard a stat that in the southern hemisphere's 2019 flu season, the rate of flu tests that came back positive was something on the order of 13%. This flu season, the test positivity rate is 0.6%. Obviously lockdowns and even significant social distancing aren't going to happen for the flu, but I think you're right that we could easily do so much better when it comes to other transmissible diseases, and I hope that at the very least masking sticks with us.
- noelherrick 6y ago
  Amen! We should all: - Wear a mask when even slightly ill - Stay home as much possible (even getting another person to pickup food) if you have symptoms - Get the flu shot Stores, schools, etc. should also really think about circulation, hand sanitizer, and perhaps even nightly UV-C disinfectant. Company culture needs to change: when sick, people should work from home for a job like programming and companies need give more sick leave for jobs like teaching where telecommuting doesn't work as well. Businesses really need to think about their part to play in protecting their customers. As a side note, my mother who is older wasn't interested in the flu shot and I always wondered why. Even if it's 60% effective, that's just halving your chances of a sometimes fatal disease for $20 and a fifteen minute visit to a pharmacy. The US in particular needs to figure out how to do public health better.

by ffggvv 6y ago

i’m not comparing them but you could say the same for the flu. as there are many people who die from it. it’s all a matter of where you draw the line of risk/reward

thomasz 6y ago

Our healthcare systems are designed to handle a bad flu season. COVID is different in so far as it's far more deadly, and that it puts a higher burden on the health care systems because the average time spent in an ICU is way longer.

Izkata 6y ago
> COVID is different in so far as it's far more deadly It's not really "far more" deadly. The main problem is the lack of immunity and everyone getting it at once.
- thomasz 6y ago
  Which results in way more deaths.

fweespeech 6y ago

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-e... The estimate for this flu season is 24k to 62k deaths. 246k people have died from Covid so far, despite precautions. Its a substantial difference.

disgruntledphd2 6y ago
And flu season hasn't even started. Covid hit after flu season, so those numbers are probably a better case scenario.

clint 6y ago

Its also extremely disappointing that we don't treat the seasonal flu more seriously. People talk about this, it just took a pandemic for most people to pay attention. Folks should be wearing masks when they are or even might be sick with ANY transmissible disease. Its actually pretty insane that pre-covid, folks would go into public and work while endangering who knows how many people (I know a lot of people don't have the option, which is a whole other bag of worms). I find it extremely depressing that people compare this to other easily preventable deaths (I see it often online and from my own family) and say: "See we handle the seasonal flu pretty horribly, why are we trying so hard with COVID-19?"

mattbk1 6y ago
My hope is that masks become much more socially acceptable for regular cold/flu after all this.
el_benhameen 6y ago
I heard a stat that in the southern hemisphere's 2019 flu season, the rate of flu tests that came back positive was something on the order of 13%. This flu season, the test positivity rate is 0.6%. Obviously lockdowns and even significant social distancing aren't going to happen for the flu, but I think you're right that we could easily do so much better when it comes to other transmissible diseases, and I hope that at the very least masking sticks with us.
noelherrick 6y ago
Amen! We should all: - Wear a mask when even slightly ill - Stay home as much possible (even getting another person to pickup food) if you have symptoms - Get the flu shot Stores, schools, etc. should also really think about circulation, hand sanitizer, and perhaps even nightly UV-C disinfectant. Company culture needs to change: when sick, people should work from home for a job like programming and companies need give more sick leave for jobs like teaching where telecommuting doesn't work as well. Businesses really need to think about their part to play in protecting their customers. As a side note, my mother who is older wasn't interested in the flu shot and I always wondered why. Even if it's 60% effective, that's just halving your chances of a sometimes fatal disease for $20 and a fifteen minute visit to a pharmacy. The US in particular needs to figure out how to do public health better.