Day 195 – “Just like the ‘flu” virus actually not just like the ‘flu shock

Latest figures just in from that bastion of public health, the USA, suggest that the SARS-CoV-2 virus might not be “just like the flu” as many well-educated* people had previously suggested.

In fact, the most recent figures available suggest that in the USA, more people have died of Covid-19 this year than in the last five influenza seasons put together.

I don’t like bandying around numbers of thousands of deaths like each and every one doesn’t matter, but I’m lowering myself temporarily to Donald’s level in order the address this clear error.

Using the CDC figures from 6th October, the estimated number of deaths from Covid-19 is somehow sitting at 197,884, despite the virus being a hoax and paradoxically also causing a mild illness from which that everyone recovers.

And (again using CDC figures), the deaths from influenza over the last five years have been (working backwards) 22,000, 34,000, 61,000, 38,000 and 23,000. That’s a total of 178,000.
In five years.

So… how is that “just like the ‘flu”?
(Except in that they have both managed to kill hundreds of thousands of American people.)

Ironically, there is hope that this year’s influenza season in the Northern hemisphere will be much milder than previous years, simply and precisely because of the precautions being taken against Covid-19. It’s already happened (or… er… not happened) in the Southern hemisphere, including South Africa.

Who could have known that keeping your distance, wearing a mask and washing your hands regularly could have reduced the chance of becoming infected by any given virus?

OK, that was most of us.

This is absolutely the time to keep going though. We might be emerging from the influenza season that never happened, but with the Covid-19 numbers starting to drop, there’s a real risk of complacency setting in. Indeed, that drop has stopped over the last couple of weeks and thus, we might be at a bit of a crossroads right now.
Let’s make the right turn: mask up, wash your hands and keep your distance.

It’s not rocket science.

 

 

* by Facebook and Donald Trump