4 ms·
A 5x difference largely skewed towards the elderly and obese fits the definition of “comparable”, but ofc this is assumed to be a downplaying tactic.
by gfodor 5y ago
A 5x difference largely skewed towards the elderly and obese fits the definition of “comparable”, but ofc this is assumed to be a downplaying tactic.
- himinlomax 5y agoThe flu also kills mostly the elderly and sick. In fact I get the impression that it does so more than Covid does.
- bastardoperator 5y agoIt is when you look at the flu data. You think the flu kills more people on average? It doesn't, and most people that die from the flu are also elderly or have pre-existing conditions.
- throwaway0a5e 5y agoYour comment is going to age like skim milk. Covid killed so many people because it was novel. It'll likely decline year over year as the population either develops antibodies or dies (of covid or natural causes).
- bastardoperator 5y ago"likely" That doesn't sound very confident...
- spurgu 5y agoActually it does.
- BlueTemplar 5y agoThere are also big reccurent flu events, like the "Hong Kong" 1968-1969 flu that caused between 1 and 4 million deaths (with half worldwide population compared to today). In fact, supposedly the analysis of just how bad that flu epidemic had been (and how it had been largely ignored) is what basically created the postmodern version of the practice of epidemiology we still use today ?
- carlmr 5y agoThis is also something I think is interesting. Covid is from a corona virus strain, but we have many corona viruses circulating already. With the flu every few decades we get a really bad strain. So if you compare the worst corona strain we know with the average flu strain, it's a bit of a biased comparison.