I'm not sure how the rate of spread makes it a bad comparison. the dynamics of contagion are what matters because it determines what interventions make sense.

I'm not sure how the rate of spread makes it a bad comparison. the dynamics of contagion are what matters because it determines what interventions make sense. you can use this pandemic frame to say, eliminate a drug 'super-spreader' cluster and it will have positive effects on a community at large. Likewise, changing the behavior of parents in regards to their diet will have real downstream effects on the health of the entire family.