Quote:
Originally Posted by irv
I agree! I think this is way overblown and unnecessary panic all driven by the propaganda/corrupt/bias media.
Regular flu kills thousands a year but nary word about that??? Mmm, wonder why?
""CDC estimates that influenza has resulted in between 9 million – 45 million illnesses, between 140,000 – 810,000 hospitalizations and between 12,000 – 61,000 deaths annually since 2010.""
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/index.html |
A couple reasons:
1. This virus is, as it stands, both marginally more contagious and has a marginally higher mortality rate than the common flu. Having one of these two attributes of a virus strain keep the virus "marginally" more dangerous. Have both makes it "exponentially" more dangerous. Exceptional measures might prevent this.
2. The virus is "novel" or new, meaning it's exposure to a human population at large is also new. This heightens the chance the virus mutates into an even more dangerous strain. The Spanish Flu outbreak during WW1 was actually broken into two waves - a first wave where the strain featured characteristics similar to the common flu (mortality rates clustered within the eldery, extremely young, and at risk). In the second, the virus then mutated into a strain that was almost equally as devastating to healthy young adults who previously the least at risk group. Exceptional measures might prevent this.
3. The "regular" flu is already firmly entrenched into our population. There is hardly a section of the globe that doesn't have a "flu season" now. The farther this strain expands and the larger the population that is infected the greater the risk this strain enters the rotation and reappears. This is especially dangerous because of number one. Exceptional measures might prevent this.
In itself covid-19 is lower on the list of dangerous viruses, there are plenty of things much much worse, but the reasons listed above and others give cause to isolate and "kill" this virus while it is still novel. Sports organizations, Universities, and in some cases entire regions are shutting down not because of something they read on facebook or watched on the news. They are taking extreme measures because top health organizations are recommending they do so.
Am I personally fearful of the virus? Not really. The only fear I have at the moment is the economic impact the virus will almost certainly soon have on my business. In looking at the greater picture though, we are at the cusp of measures most of us haven't seen in our lifetime so I believe the major health organizations feel the need to contain it quickly is warranted. How the media factors into this I'm not sure other than yeah, some of the most extreme medical efforts we have seen in some time are being thrown at this virus so I would expect them to report on it extensively.