Coronavirus is just the flu (someone help me out)

[shabbi]

DM and I are just having a discussion over message that's leaving me irate.

Her argument is it's just the flu and the government want to scare us.

I'm running out of logical things to say to show it isn't. Someone help me.

switch it off and go and watch a film/do something else

you cant argue or even reason with that mindset

@DahliaDay probably a good idea actually.

Influenza unvaccinated is very deadly, it has a fatality rate of approx ten percent. We vaccinate so clearly we have a much lower death rate. It also predominantly impacts the elderly and those with underlying health conditions,

By comparison, Covid, unvaccinated likely has a fatality rate in the region of 0.05 percent.

How infectious Covid is v influenzas is not really known yet, but early indications are its more easily spread.

The deaths from influenza is an unpleasant death like Covid. They are both respiratory diseases.

I think saying it’s “just the flu” shows your mother doesn’t understand how deadly influenza is if unvaccinated.

@Bluntness100 don't get her started on that, she doesn't believe in vaccinations and says she'd rather go to prison than get one

Nurse here. It's not the flu. We have vaccines for flu. The mortality rate is much higher than the flu (based on current testing). The flu comes on gradually over a 4-5 month season and coronavirus is hitting us all at once. It also appears to be more contagious with great risk of spreading by asymptomatic patients.

I'm probably going to slap the next person who tells me that it's just like seasonal influenza.

Flu is also pretty deadly - has she heard of the Spanish flu!?

If it was flu it would be an influenza virus not a corona virus?

The Tories are usually the party that acts in the interests of the wealthy yet have thrown money at this (presumably because the cost of not furloughing etc would be even greater)

Boris easily won the election. Rather than "fuss over the flu" why wouldn't he just sit pretty enjoying his popularity? There's a vocal section of the population who think that they want No Deal Brexit so he could have just stayed at Chequers with the baby and had Raab go to Europe for negotiations.

Lot's of people die from flu, although one of the advantages of lockdown is that it will also be reducing the deaths from flu and other diseases.

Influenza unvaccinated is very deadly, it has a fatality rate of approx ten percent

That surprises me. I thought one of the most deadly strains ( Spanish flu) is estimated to have has a mortality rate of 2-3% which is bad enough . There were no vaccines available when Spanish flu was around.

Some of the comments on here are outrageous. Especially the one about "influenza vaccinated having a fatality rate of approx ten percent".

Unvaccinated

@Bluntness100 I'm not sure where you're getting your figures from but they don't seem right to me. I've seen a few of your posts on other threads that seem equally dubious. Are you certain? If not I would urge you to stop making such confident assertions. You are a very articulate and believable poster and this makes the dissemination of falsehoods dangerous.

I agree the public campaign to keep people at home has been more effective than intended and now people are frightened. I don't think it warrants being frightened. We should be cautious but we don't need the hysteria which is sweeping the nation and the media.

@DenimDrift given that the MN reddit threads are a toxic pile of shit I don't think drawing anybody's attention to what I assume is a bullying thread is really necessary is it?

The latest info I've read is that a normal seasonal flu has a death rate of about 0.1%. Obviously there are variances, with some strains being much more lethal (the 1918 flu is one of those).

Coronavirus case fatality rates vary very strongly by age, which makes overall CFR difficult to determine, but in all but the very youngest it is considerably higher than that of flu. In the over 85s, the CFR sits between 15-20%, which is astonishingly high. We won't know until after the outbreak has died down what the average CFR is and what the variances are for age bands, ethnic groups and gender, all of which seem to have an influence.

Bluntness where on earth do you get your information?

Counting deaths from flu is tricky as it's usually some other condition like pneumonia or COPD that's proximate and listed on the death certificate. We only have estimates in the US, not an actual count. See this from the CDC:

Frequently Asked Questions about Estimated Flu Burden

This is what it says about unvaccinated deaths from flu:

How many flu-associated deaths occur in people who were not vaccinated?

As previously explained, flu-associated deaths in adults are not a nationally notifiable condition, and so states are not required to report flu-associated deaths in adults to CDC. In contrast, flu-associated deaths in children are a nationally notifiable condition, and so jurisdictions (inclusive of state, city or local public health departments) do provide data to CDC on flu-associated deaths in children. These data generally include demographic information, flu laboratory test results, clinical information, and information on the child’s vaccination history, when it is available. During past seasons, approximately 80% of flu-associated deaths in children have occurred in children who were not vaccinated. Based on available data, this remains true for the 2017-2018 season, as well. The latest surveillance data on flu deaths in children is available.

Perhaps you have better data in the UK.

MissConductUS I think the UK uses excess death data to assess the impact of seasonal flu (as in whether it is worse or less bad than the norm for any given year). Obviously there are flaws with this method, but when it comes to COVID and bad seasonal flu years, I think it could be useful.