> I'm sorry, but have you seen hospitals being overwhelmed by the flu as they are by covid on the same scale? In bad flu years, hospitals were overwhelmed to t

> I'm sorry, but have you seen hospitals being overwhelmed by the flu as they are by covid on the same scale? In bad flu years, hospitals were overwhelmed to the point of taking pretty significant measures not dissimilar to what has been done during the pandemic, like cancelling elective surgeries. See https://time.com/5107984/hospitals-handling-burden-flu-patients/ https://time.com/5107984/hospitals-handling-burden-flu-patie... I cited a source in another comment indicating that ICUs at level 1 centers were typically running at 80-90% of capacity even before the pandemic. Obviously, there are no ideal solutions here, but shutting society down every time hospitals near capacity isn't a realistic approach indefinitely.