CDC Flu numbers

[Brownmoose13]

Why does the media ignore these numbers?

2019-2020 U.S. Flu Season: Preliminary Burden Estimates | CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm)

[retiredguy123]

Not sure they ignore them, but there is a vaccine to prevent the flu and drugs to treat it. For the Coronavirus, there is no vaccine or approved treatment.

[Brownmoose13]

I agree there is a vaccine but even with the vaccine there are 24,000-62,000 deaths from the flu and in my mind death is death whether by the flu or coronavirus.
I think the difference is that the flu deaths are an every year event so we have learned to live with it but the Coronavirus is new and gives the media something new to write about.
Should we be concerned, yes but panic and hysteria NO

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

I agree there is a vaccine but even with the vaccine there are 24,000-62,000 deaths from the flu and in my mind death is death whether by the flu or coronavirus.
I think the difference is that the flu deaths are an every year event so we have learned to live with it but the Coronavirus is new and gives the media something new to write about.
Should we be concerned, yes but panic and hysteria NO

That number is per year.

We haven't had a year of COVID-19 yet. We haven't even had the same number of months as the average flu season yet.

[Brownmoose13]

No, those numbers are from when the flu season begins which the CDC estimates is October 1 and the numbers they post are thru March 21 so they have also estimated the 1,000 people die per week from the flu.

[Bucco]

I agree there is a vaccine but even with the vaccine there are 24,000-62,000 deaths from the flu and in my mind death is death whether by the flu or coronavirus.
I think the difference is that the flu deaths are an every year event so we have learned to live with it but the Coronavirus is new and gives the media something new to write about.
Should we be concerned, yes but panic and hysteria NO

This is discussed ad nauseum and experts, not those in P, have stated over and over it is a very invalid measurement for many reasons.

[npwalters]

This is discussed ad nauseum and experts, not those in P, have stated over and over it is a very invalid measurement for many reasons.

I would disagree on the ad nauseum comment but beyond that; other than the incomplete time period why is a direct comparison of death rates a "very invalid measurement"?

[xNYer]

Are you practicing social distancing now and did you do every flu season?

[PugMom]

This is discussed ad nauseum and experts, not those in P, have stated over and over it is a very invalid measurement for many reasons.
says who?

[hotdog]

Why does the media ignore these numbers?

2019-2020 U.S. Flu Season: Preliminary Burden Estimates | CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm)

Seasonal Flu Deaths in US 2017-2018 61 Thousand. Why are we not looking at those numbers. This COV19 has death rate of 1.3% and that is almost half the season flu rate
What are we doing?

[Quixote]

Why does the media ignore these numbers?

2019-2020 U.S. Flu Season: Preliminary Burden Estimates | CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm)

Why do the media ignore these numbers? Perhaps because those public figures who are recognized as those most knowledgeable in the field of infectious diseases have reiterated time and again (“ad nauseum”?) that we have been exposed to influenza decade after decade, have had flu shots (some of us), resulting in the human immune system having developed at least SOME immunity/resistance, in contrast with coronavirus, which we are told is a completely new disease to which the human immune system has NEVER been exposed.

I don’t have the medical qualifications to suggest a comparison between these two different diseases, so I choose to listen to those with the appropriate qualifications. Evidently so do the media.

Anyone who chooses to consider coronavirus the same as the flu and thus ignore the best available advice is certainly free to do so.

[woderfulwendy1]

Corona is much more contagious then the flu.

[MandoMan]

Why does the media ignore these numbers?

2019-2020 U.S. Flu Season: Preliminary Burden Estimates | CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm)

Thanks for the link. (For those who haven’t looked, it says
38 million to 54 million flu illnesses this season.
18 million to 26 million medical visits for flu this season.
400 thousand to 730 thousand hospitalizations for flu this season.
24 thousand to 64 thousand deaths from the flu this season.
It also says this: “ How does the number of flu hospitalizations estimated so far this season compare with previous end-of-season hospitalization estimates? The number of hospitalizations estimated so far this season is lower than end-of-season total hospitalization estimates for any season since CDC began making these estimates.”

By contrast, the current count of Coronavirus cases in the U.S., as of this moment, is 105 THOUSAND, with under 1,800 deaths. This disease has the possibility of being gigantic, and certainly it is leading to problems at hospitals in a few cities, but it may also end up being a relative flash in the pan compared to what the flu does yearly. Wouldn’t that be terrific?

Perhaps we are right to be extremely cautious. I’ve been in voluntary quarantine for three weeks now, apart from a few trips to stores (not for toilet paper). I applaud The Villages for shutting down restaurants, pools, recreation centers, etc. That will save lives! And stop complaining about losing your Amenity Fees. The extra cost of running the place right now far surpasses the cost of amenities at normal times.

Why are we in panic mode? Primarily television news, whatever your favorite channel may be. For example, I get my weather news from a very accurate source called WeatherUnderground.com. Say there’s snow in the forecast in New York City. Weather Underground says 1-3”. The television weather people say “This could be the worst storm ever for this date! Experts say we could get as much as 18” of snow! Emergency teams are getting ready! Stay home, whatever you do! Stay tuned for more storm information after these local advertisements that are going to bring us many thousands of dollars!” And New York gets 1” of snow. Weather Underground was right. Do the television news teams offer a profound apology? No way!

What I’m saying is that rumors of epidemics and storms and terrorist events keep people glued to the news channels, so the television news gives us what we want in order to maximize profits, even if what they tell is is highly exaggerated.

One thing I’m sure of is that the social distancing we are practicing right now will save lives: not only deaths from the Coronavirus but deaths from the flu. Quite possibly many thousands of deaths from the flu. Maybe even more deaths from the flu than from the Coronavirus. I’ll bet we could save thousands of lives a year if we did this every flu season. I think it’s quite possible that there are far more people right now in The Villages with the flu than with the Coronavirus, and there may be many more deaths in The Villages this year from the flu. Yet we don’t panic about that. We just get our vaccines and avoid other people when we get sick.

Am I scared? Well, yes! Am I doing what it takes to stay alive? You bet! Are we unduly terrified? Probably. Are we doing the right thing? Maybe. But is our panic damaging our economic structure and my retirement funds? Sure is! Is it causing economic hardship to millions? Yup! Is it adding immense amounts to the national debt (that WE owe!)? Yes.

Yesterday I talked with my 91 year old father on the phone. He lives in Denver. My sister lives in Tucson. He said her daughter (his grand-daughter) had called, sobbing, because she had just driven my sister to the emergency room of a local hospital, and she had been explaining where to find her will and her passwords and who to call when she died. My sister was sent to a triage tent. Then she was sent to the emergency room. Her daughter wasn’t let into the emergency room, so she was waiting in the car, sobbing to my dad. My sister’s symptoms were a running and clogged up nose, a fever, a wet cough, and body aches.

Did you catch that? Are you up on Coronavirus symptoms, or are you among the panicking sheep? My dad knew instantly that my sister did not have the Coronavirus, and so did I. The symptoms are wrong. While her daughter was still on the phone to my dad, my sister came out, knocked on the car window, and said, “Let’s go home.” The emergency room nurse said she had a heavy cold or a mild case of the flu. If my sister hadn’t panicked and had known the symptoms, she would have stayed home and not been part of the problem in the hospital. She also could have saved the health care system (us) a lot of money in hospital costs.

How many of the people in The Villages who got tested for the Coronavirus this week didn’t need to be?

[mellincf]

No, those numbers are from when the flu season begins which the CDC estimates is October 1 and the numbers they post are thru March 21 so they have also estimated the 1,000 people die per week from the flu.


>The worst case scenario for COVID-19 is 2.2 million Americans will die of it. One of the symptoms is the loss of taste and/or smell. 200 million people died of the bubonic plague and 50-100 million died of the Spanish Flu. Pandemics are not a joke.

[NotFromAroundHere]

Seasonal Flu Deaths in US 2017-2018 61 Thousand. Why are we not looking at those numbers. This COV19 has death rate of 1.3% and that is almost half the season flu rate
What are we doing?

You should check your math. Using the numbers from the CDC estimate, the Flu death rate is between .06% - .12%. Which makes the COV19 death rate at least 10 times that of the flu.

So, what we are doing (at least some of us), is using some common sense.

[rlcooper70]

Are you implying the CDC does not know the estimates for the regular winter flu? Or are you saying this virus is not much more lethal than the normal flu? Normal Flu season ... 1.3% to 1.4% mortality. This one appears to be between 3.2% and 4.5%. And many more will get this one because of the long assymtomatic incubation period. If you refuse to take it seriously ..... how does that make sense?

[rlcooper70]

You are minimizing the virus ... perhaps that is why it is spreading so quickly. Very sad.

[Swoop]

Only 10 years ago a different strain of virus, that also jumped from animals to humans infected over 60 million Americans, with over 13,000 deaths. How many businesses closed? How much time did the news devote to reporting it? H1N1 didn’t get hysterical news coverage. People didn’t hoard toilet paper. We have had roughly 100,000 cases of the Coronavirus - remember 60,000,000 Americans got H1N1. And early on they talked about the fact that H1N1 was much deadlier than the flu. But when all the dust settled and more testing was done, the numbers ended up being pretty similar. Over 80% of the people that contract the Coronavirus will have little to no symptoms. The majority of them will not be tested, at least in the short run. Their results aren’t figured into the mortality rate. We should take precautions, but we shouldn’t be hysterical.

[Ashley from UK]

The risk is not about the number of cases in a season it's about the number of cases in a day or week that require treatment.

If treatment is available your all right it's not such a problem.

But with such a large number of cases at one point in time it is more serious and the death rate will be far higher.

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/196234/covid19-imperial-researchers-model-likely-impact/

[tscmedlake]

Some of the differences have already been mentioned. But here is a summary:

COVID-19 is new, so not as well understood as the flu. Based on recent analysis its transmission rate is at least 2X GREATER than the flu. In part this is because people who get the flu get sick rather quickly (one to two days) while people who contract COVID-19 don’t get sick for one to two WEEKS.

The death rate for COVID-19 is AT LEAST 10X that of the flu. In older populations it the death rate may be 20X or more than that of the flu.

The symptoms of the flu require hospitalization in appx 1% of the cases. For COVID-19 it is closer to 12% (again 10+ X higher than the flu). The hospitalization rate is even higher for senior citizens. Further, the average flu hospitalization resolves in 5 or 6 days. COVID-19 cases are taking 10 to 20 days (twice as long) if they resolve at all.

There is ZERO “herd immunity” to COVID-19. Due to vaccines and past exposures a large percentage of the population is immune to the flu.

The flu almost always subsides in the Summer. It is unknown how COVID-19 will behave in the Summer.

Hope that helps.

[jeffy]

The Difference Between The Flu and COVID19 and how it is spreading - The following is a forward written by a MD from Upstate Hospital (Syracuse NY):
For anyone who knows that one person who just can’t seem to get on board with this- feel free to share.
Let me introduce myself: I am a practicing ER doctor with a Bachelors degree in cell and molecular biology/genetics and a Masters degree in public health in addition to my doctorate.
COVID is not a flu. Not even a little. Here are reasons why:
1. It is a separate species. It is no more like influenza than you are like a hippo. DIFFERENT SPECIES.
2. It is an airborne virus. This means the tiny droplets can stay in the air for a full 2 hours. So if a person coughed in aisle 4 of Target 1.5 hours ago, they may be home now but their covid cloud is still hanging there just waiting for you to walk by and take a breath. Influenza is not an airborne virus. It is droplet spread- meaning someone has to directly crop dust you with their sneeze to get you sick. Covid is much more contagious.
3. Covid is more virulent. Virulence factor is a measure of how catchy something is. For example, the flu is like beer. It takes a bunch to get you drunk. Covid is more like tequila - A little goes a long way. You need to suck up a lot of flu particles to actually catch the flu; with covid, even a few particles is enough to infect you.
4. Covid has a longer incubation than the flu. When you catch the flu, you typically get sick in the next 1-2 days. This is awesome because it means you stay at home while contagious because you feel like a heap of fried garbage. Covid has a blissful 5-9 days of symptom free time during which you are well enough to head to the movies, gym or mar-a-lago while also being contagious enough to infect everyone you encounter.
5. Covid has a longer duration of illness than flu. With covid, you have a 5-9 days of blissful asymptomatic contagiousness. This then turns into about 1 week of cough and overall feeling like hell but still surviving. Week 2 is when things hit the fan and people end up unable to breathe and on a ventilator. Many stay on the vent for up to 15 days. 5 days incubating+7 kinda sick days + 15 days on a ventilator makes for 27 days of virus spreading illness, (assuming your don’t just die of massive asphyxiation and body-wide collapse from overwhelming infection somewhere in that last week).The flu has an average incubation of 1-2 days and sick time of 7 days for a total of 9 infectious days. In the world of deadly viruses, that 18 extra days might as well be a millennia.
6. Covid is more deadly. A LOT more deadly. The flu has about a 0.2% mortality rate, meaning 2 of every thousand people who get sick with flu will die. On the contrary, the death rate from covid is reportedly 2%, so 10 times more deadly than flu. Ten times more death seems like a lot more death to me. Whats more worrisome is that 2% is actually incorrect because it doesn’t kill kids so that skews the average. With covid, age is a major factor in survival. If we don’t include people under 30, the death rate for adults is on average 4.5%. 9 out of every 200 adults that get this will die from it. Do you know 200 adults? Do you think losing 9 of them is no big deal? Since mortality increases with age in covid, the risk gets worse as you get older so if we put 100 grannies in a room with covid, only 85 would make it out alive to make pies and tell great stories of the old days... and that just sucks.
I hope that helps to clarify is why covid is in no way a flu, why you are in no way a hippo, and why staying home is the only way for non-essential people to do their part while I spend my days at work covered in a plastic poncho, sucking air through a stuffy respirator mask, leaving my scrubs in my driveway, showering the covid off at 4am when I get in, and thinking to myself “now do u still think it was just a flu?” as I risk my own life with my face 2 inches from their highly contagious, gasping mouth while I slide the plastic tube down their throat and start up the ventilator.
Enough said.

[villageuser]

Seasonal Flu Deaths in US 2017-2018 61 Thousand. Why are we not looking at those numbers. This COV19 has death rate of 1.3% and that is almost half the season flu rate
What are we doing?

The flu is a known disease that is transmitted human to human. The Novel Coronavirus is a disease that was in animals, got transmitted to a human, then changed itself again to be able to be transmitted human to human. It is an unknown disease, with no vaccine or treatment at this time, and highly contagious. The experts are finding out more things about it daily, but never forget this is an unknown which has managed to transform itself twice, and can do so again.

This is not hysteria. This is a concerted effort to try to prevent the medical and financial devastation that would happen if this disease goes unchecked. And, by the way, from what I have read, death from this disease is nothing like the flu. It is horrendous.

[Westie Man]

Not sure they ignore them, but there is a vaccine to prevent the flu and drugs to treat it. For the Coronavirus, there is no vaccine or approved treatment.
That is the big difference that some people don't get NO VACCINE

[J1ceasar]

1000 % of people tested have the regular flu compared to corona virus . all will get infected now from Being near those with it. On test line

[roscoguy]

Are you implying the CDC does not know the estimates for the regular winter flu? Or are you saying this virus is not much more lethal than the normal flu? Normal Flu season ... 1.3% to 1.4% mortality. This one appears to be between 3.2% and 4.5%. And many more will get this one because of the long assymtomatic incubation period. If you refuse to take it seriously ..... how does that make sense?

Still not quite right. Using the average of the numbers from the posted CDC link, the death rate from the seasonal flu would be almost .1% - not 1.3% to 1.4%. The death rate from OCVID-19 is harder to find, but sources seem to estimate approximately 2% to as much as 7%. Using the lowest of those estimates, the COVID-19 death rate would be 20 times higher than the flu. Even if we assume that 50% of CV infections go unreported, the death rate could still be 10 times more than the flu. If CV proves to be as infectious as the flu and nothing were done to control the spread, the deaths (again using the CDC's average number of yearly flu cases & a 2% death rate) could be nearly 1 million. That is why there is such worldwide 'panic'.

[Ashley from UK]

Some of the differences have already been mentioned. But here is a summary:

COVID-19 is new, so not as well understood as the flu. Based on recent analysis its transmission rate is at least 2X GREATER than the flu. In part this is because people who get the flu get sick rather quickly (one to two days) while people who contract COVID-19 don’t get sick for one to two WEEKS.

The death rate for COVID-19 is AT LEAST 10X that of the flu. In older populations it the death rate may be 20X or more than that of the flu.

The symptoms of the flu require hospitalization in appx 1% of the cases. For COVID-19 it is closer to 12% (again 10+ X higher than the flu). The hospitalization rate is even higher for senior citizens. Further, the average flu hospitalization resolves in 5 or 6 days. COVID-19 cases are taking 10 to 20 days (twice as long) if they resolve at all.

There is ZERO “herd immunity” to COVID-19. Due to vaccines and past exposures a large percentage of the population is immune to the flu.

The flu almost always subsides in the Summer. It is unknown how COVID-19 will behave in the Summer.

Hope that helps.

and to add to this COVID-19 is hitting in a short period of time NOT over a season. The problem is not about how many people will contract the illness. It's how many people require treatment at the same time and medical services not being able to give treatment. Lack of beds = increased mortality. Slow the progress may not reduce the number of people infected but it WILL increase the likelihood of recovery for those with complications.

[mjc1145]

I don't believe that the CDC ignores the seasonal flu numbers in the comparison to Corona virus. Major issues with Corona that are cause for concern:

1. We have no experience with Corona...therefore no acquired immunity as with flu. As yet there are no proven treatments, and no vaccines to help prevent or reduce the impact of the disease.

2. The flu season is spread out over many months through the country due to the impact of the vaccines and immunities (both innate and acquired). The Corona is hitting areas like a wave. In effect, with the flu we have already "flattened the curve."

3. Because we have this flattened curve of people coming down with the flu, there is little worry that the medical system will be overwhelmed with patients needing treatment and ventilator hospital beds. With Corona, the wave of patients that are in need in the NYC Metro area will or is happening (e.g. New Orleans and Atlanta) at other large cities. The numbers will be lower in smaller communities, but their ability to handle the rapid rise in the numbers requiring treatment is also lower.

4. And because the sickness does not occur immediately, the ability to infect others is greatly increased with Corona...and then there's the fact that while the sickness does not occur quickly, the symtoms do.

[NotFromAroundHere]

1000 % of people tested have the regular flu compared to corona virus . all will get infected now from Being near those with it. On test line

I'm just going to pretend I didn't read this. I 1000% didn't read this.

[akin1]

and less than 1/2 the Americans get the flu shot each year.

[HIgolfers]

Thanks Choro&Swing- Best post I have read yet.

[stan the man]

says who?

👍play on numbers

[stan the man]

You are minimizing the virus ... perhaps that is why it is spreading so quickly. Very sad.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 vs. the Flu | Johns Hopkins Medicine (https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-disease-2019-vs-the-flu)

[jswirs]

Thanks for the link. (For those who haven’t looked, it says
38 million to 54 million flu illnesses this season.
18 million to 26 million medical visits for flu this season.
400 thousand to 730 thousand hospitalizations for flu this season.
24 thousand to 64 thousand deaths from the flu this season.
It also says this: “ How does the number of flu hospitalizations estimated so far this season compare with previous end-of-season hospitalization estimates? The number of hospitalizations estimated so far this season is lower than end-of-season total hospitalization estimates for any season since CDC began making these estimates.”

By contrast, the current count of Coronavirus cases in the U.S., as of this moment, is 105 THOUSAND, with under 1,800 deaths. This disease has the possibility of being gigantic, and certainly it is leading to problems at hospitals in a few cities, but it may also end up being a relative flash in the pan compared to what the flu does yearly. Wouldn’t that be terrific?

Perhaps we are right to be extremely cautious. I’ve been in voluntary quarantine for three weeks now, apart from a few trips to stores (not for toilet paper). I applaud The Villages for shutting down restaurants, pools, recreation centers, etc. That will save lives! And stop complaining about losing your Amenity Fees. The extra cost of running the place right now far surpasses the cost of amenities at normal times.

Why are we in panic mode? Primarily television news, whatever your favorite channel may be. For example, I get my weather news from a very accurate source called WeatherUnderground.com. Say there’s snow in the forecast in New York City. Weather Underground says 1-3”. The television weather people say “This could be the worst storm ever for this date! Experts say we could get as much as 18” of snow! Emergency teams are getting ready! Stay home, whatever you do! Stay tuned for more storm information after these local advertisements that are going to bring us many thousands of dollars!” And New York gets 1” of snow. Weather Underground was right. Do the television news teams offer a profound apology? No way!

What I’m saying is that rumors of epidemics and storms and terrorist events keep people glued to the news channels, so the television news gives us what we want in order to maximize profits, even if what they tell is is highly exaggerated.

One thing I’m sure of is that the social distancing we are practicing right now will save lives: not only deaths from the Coronavirus but deaths from the flu. Quite possibly many thousands of deaths from the flu. Maybe even more deaths from the flu than from the Coronavirus. I’ll bet we could save thousands of lives a year if we did this every flu season. I think it’s quite possible that there are far more people right now in The Villages with the flu than with the Coronavirus, and there may be many more deaths in The Villages this year from the flu. Yet we don’t panic about that. We just get our vaccines and avoid other people when we get sick.

Am I scared? Well, yes! Am I doing what it takes to stay alive? You bet! Are we unduly terrified? Probably. Are we doing the right thing? Maybe. But is our panic damaging our economic structure and my retirement funds? Sure is! Is it causing economic hardship to millions? Yup! Is it adding immense amounts to the national debt (that WE owe!)? Yes.

Yesterday I talked with my 91 year old father on the phone. He lives in Denver. My sister lives in Tucson. He said her daughter (his grand-daughter) had called, sobbing, because she had just driven my sister to the emergency room of a local hospital, and she had been explaining where to find her will and her passwords and who to call when she died. My sister was sent to a triage tent. Then she was sent to the emergency room. Her daughter wasn’t let into the emergency room, so she was waiting in the car, sobbing to my dad. My sister’s symptoms were a running and clogged up nose, a fever, a wet cough, and body aches.

Did you catch that? Are you up on Coronavirus symptoms, or are you among the panicking sheep? My dad knew instantly that my sister did not have the Coronavirus, and so did I. The symptoms are wrong. While her daughter was still on the phone to my dad, my sister came out, knocked on the car window, and said, “Let’s go home.” The emergency room nurse said she had a heavy cold or a mild case of the flu. If my sister hadn’t panicked and had known the symptoms, she would have stayed home and not been part of the problem in the hospital. She also could have saved the health care system (us) a lot of money in hospital costs.

How many of the people in The Villages who got tested for the Coronavirus this week didn’t need to be?
You are so very right, you echo my sentiments exactly! It's so very sad that so many people, or shall I say sheeple, are so easily lead down the path of panic, and believe everything they hear on the panic producing news media.

[Velvet]

‘That is the big difference that some people don't get NO VACCINE’ - For Covid

And... no cure.

[davem4616]

Why does the media ignore these numbers?

2019-2020 U.S. Flu Season: Preliminary Burden Estimates | CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm)



because they don't care...the media is about selling advertisements, they charge for commercials on the basis of how many people are watching their show....it's not about truthful, vetted reporting...it's about ratings

it's a lot like watching professional wrestling...it's entertaining, looks real, but it isn't

[Sjshanl]

It’s called “normalization of deviations “ , or in other words, we’re so used to it that it doesn’t bother us, and the media doesn’t get any attention from it.

[Bucco]

because they don't care...the media is about selling advertisements, they charge for commercials on the basis of how many people are watching their show....it's not about truthful, vetted reporting...it's about ratings

it's a lot like watching professional wrestling...it's entertaining, looks real, but it isn't

A. They are not being ignored in any way and would need you to make a case that they are being ignored, because probably daily they are referenced.

B. Whoever you refer to as the media (not exactly a specific case is it) does a great job in reporting news which is their job. Now, the fact you do no like it does not make it untrue.

C. General attacks like you make, I realize is becoming "par for the course" and I guess my stubborness on this subject is that demeaning of the press is a true indicator of misinformed electorate and big problems in the future. "media" does not make the news but used video, tapes, quotes etc. to keep us informed.......not liking it does not make it untrue of a hoax, or fake, as has been proven over and over and over again over the past few years.

I would never attack anyone or anything with NO validation, which you do here......and just an add......there is no comparison whatsoever between the seasonal flu and corona.

[LiverpoolWalrus]

38 million to 54 million flu illnesses this season.
18 million to 26 million medical visits for flu this season.
400 thousand to 730 thousand hospitalizations for flu this season.
24 thousand to 64 thousand deaths from the flu this season.

By contrast, the current count of Coronavirus cases in the U.S., as of this moment, is 105 THOUSAND, with under 1,800 deaths. This disease has the possibility of being gigantic, and certainly it is leading to problems at hospitals in a few cities, but it may also end up being a relative flash in the pan compared to what the flu does yearly. Wouldn’t that be terrific?

Why are we in panic mode? Primarily television news, whatever your favorite channel may be. For example, I get my weather news from a very accurate source called WeatherUnderground.com. Say there’s snow in the forecast in New York City. Weather Underground says 1-3”. The television weather people say “This could be the worst storm ever for this date! Experts say we could get as much as 18” of snow! Emergency teams are getting ready! Stay home, whatever you do! Stay tuned for more storm information after these local advertisements that are going to bring us many thousands of dollars!” And New York gets 1” of snow. Weather Underground was right. Do the television news teams offer a profound apology? No way!

What I’m saying is that rumors of epidemics and storms and terrorist events keep people glued to the news channels, so the television news gives us what we want in order to maximize profits, even if what they tell is is highly exaggerated.

...He said her daughter (his grand-daughter) had called, sobbing, because she had just driven my sister to the emergency room of a local hospital, and she had been explaining where to find her will and her passwords and who to call when she died...My sister’s symptoms were a running and clogged up nose, a fever, a wet cough, and body aches...The emergency room nurse said she had a heavy cold or a mild case of the flu.

Great post, ChoroSwing (excerpted here). Perfect example of how terrified some people are. And I couldn't agree with you more that TV news shows are to blame. That's right - "they give the people what they want" so they'll continue to watch the advertisements. But that raises the question, why do people want to be frightened? Are we that starved for entertainment? The grossly exaggerated weather reports you cite are a classic example. Hurricane coverage is another. I for one refuse to be manipulated by TV news so I don't watch it. Ever. I get news from other less sensationalistic sources.

All that said---(Other posters please note I'm stating this up front so no need to lecture this info back at me.) The fatality rate of Covid-19 is much higher than the flu and way more contagious, so we do need to take common sense precautions. I did some quick calculations from the posted data and flu's lethality rate using both ranges is way less than 1%. It appears, for now anyway, Covid's is somewhere around 3%. Granted the Covid statistic could adjust downward quite a bit as more and more people are tested.

[Bucco]

Great post, ChoroSwing (excerpted here). Perfect example of how terrified some people are. And I couldn't agree with you more that TV news shows are to blame. That's right - "they give the people what they want" so they'll continue to watch the advertisements. But that raises the question, why do people want to be frightened? Are we that starved for entertainment? The grossly exaggerated weather reports you cite are a classic example. Hurricane coverage is another. I for one refuse to be manipulated by TV news so I don't watch it. Ever. I get news from other less sensationalistic sources.

All that said---(Other posters please note I'm stating this up front so no need to lecture this info back at me.) The fatality rate of Covid-19 is much higher than the flu and way more contagious, so we do need to take common sense precautions. I did some quick calculations from the posted data and flu's lethality rate using both ranges is way less than 1%. It appears, for now anyway, Covid's is somewhere around 3%. Granted the Covid statistic could adjust downward quite a bit as more and more people are tested.

With such serious allegations you are making, I am assuming that there will be an edit to your post allowing specific examples of what you say......that the media ""they give the people what they want" so they'll continue to watch the advertisements."

I will look forward to substantiation for such serious allegations that you are making.

Some networks are dispensing advice on medication which I find VERY SERIOUS are ignored by you....I find that interesting.

To be fair they are not dispensing this as part of a news program, but it is irresponsible and I hope nobody in your family takes their advice....call your doctor.

But anyway...serious allegations require substantiation.

On the weather which is not the subject of the thread, but suggest you read a bit as to why....safety....for the most part. Maybe never helped you but the hyper on hurricanes for example has saved many lives and also provided impetus to improve and narrow down those forecasts. They are also a great service to those who provide protection for us.....a huge service. If you get upset at the guy or gal providing that service because it did not affect you, think of the potential lives saved.

[LiverpoolWalrus]

Bucco, thanks for your feedback. I think it's common knowledge that TV news is a commercial business funded by advertisements. As such, their model is to maximize viewership. Nonetheless, I agree that's not "substantiating an allegation" so if in your view my opinion about funding for TV news rises to the level of an "allegation," I guess I'm guilty as charged. To that I would say that in my view, an example of an "allegation" would be something like "TV news ruins lives" - which is nothing like what I said.

Saying, as I did, that TV news gives people what they want, is nothing more than an opinion, especially since continued viewership would indicate there is some credence to my opinion. And there is nothing negative about it, unlike an "allegation." If you're disagreeing that people watch TV news so that they can see advertisements, I can understand that, as I don't think that's the case. I'd be surprised if people watch TV news for the advertisements, but they are seeing them anyway, and that's what the TV news shows want in order to survive.

In any case, as requested, here's a bit of "substantiation" from the good people at the Neilsen TV ratings service: Research Study Shows TV Viewers Really Do Watch Commercials – Nielsen (https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2010/research-study-shows-tv-viewers-really-do-watch-commercials/)

I appreciate your concern that I might not be getting all the news I need to protect myself and my family. Rest assured I am. And I'm rigidly adhering to CDC's guidelines, just for the record. The thought of possibly infecting someone else while being unaware I could be infected is a very sobering one, and a very unpleasant one at that. It is not something I want to risk doing.

Point taken about weather and hurricane news coverage. I'm sure it sometimes saves lives. It's just my opinion that it's sometimes exaggerated, but you're right, not always.

[Moderator]

Please stay on the topic of CDC Covid-19 numbers vs. seasonal flu numbers. Further discussion of other topics will be deleted. You are free to start another thread on other topics if desired.

Moderator

[knippme]

Thank you for your post.

[Starfire]

The death rate for Convid-19 is totally unknown because we have no idea exactly how many people are actually infected!!!!

My daughter, who works at a hospital, informs me that there are not enough test kits to test everyone who has symptoms (Not surprising since we started with ZERO test kits due to this being a NEW virus). Thus, only those who are so sick as to be hospitalized are being tested. The rest of the patients are being sent home to recover on their own.

The problem is, the only way to have a CONFIRMED case of Covid-19 is to have the test performed. Thus, there is a huge under-reporting of the number of cases. This would indicate that the death rate from Covid-19 is actually much much lower than is currently being reported.

PS: Everyone will get this over the next few years. It is just a matter of time (kind of like the flu).

[Sparky25]

The villages daily Sun reported that last week 630 people were tested for the virus and only 20 came back positive. I wanna know what about the other 610 people who were tested and who had symptoms, what the heck did they have? Did they have the flu or something else I was contagious? I hope they still like themselves in their house for 14 days.

[LiverpoolWalrus]

It's well established that stress and anxiety cause illness.

Illnesses Caused by Stress (https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/stress/illnesses-caused-stress/)

The Relationship Between Anxiety and Illness (https://www.verywellmind.com/anxiety-and-illness-3024757)

[karostay]

In other news

. In 2019, 1,762,450 new cancer cases and 606,880 cancer deaths are projected to occur in the United States.
Virus has long way to go to reach these numbers why are we panicking ?