Coronavirus vs swine flu

[utterlybutterly8]

Swine flu killed 457 people in the UK in 2009. When the outbreak occurred, Britain’s chief medical officer said that the best case scenario would be 3,100 UK deaths and the worst case around 65,000. So in the event, far fewer people perished from the disease than the officer predicted.

According to CNN, the global death toll from swine flu is estimated to be anything from 151,700 to 575,400.

I do remember some level of concern in 2009, but nothing like what we’re seeing now - I don’t recall major sports events being cancelled, people being advised to work from home and flight and movement restrictions being imposed.

So my question is - why is the coronavirus causing so much more disruption and alarm than the swine flu (which also seemed pretty serious at the time when you consider the predicted number of deaths)?

I’d be interested to hear what people think.

I find your post very interesting. I was terrified of swine flu but pregnant. I am not scared of CV. I am frightened for the impact on the vulnerable, the country, the NHS... I don't really understand the apparently different level of fear and panic.

I think this comparison is a very valid one but I suspect many will take issue with it.

Maybe because there Covid-19 is a novel virus and so there is no treatment? There was Tamiflu for swine flu - I am sure I remember people were panic buying Tamiflu off the internet or something, but I could be wrong.

www.standard.co.uk/news/warning-over-panic-buying-of-tamiflu-drugs-online-6719469.html

Agree far more reaction worldwide this time.

I had H1N1. I was 29 and in good overall health, I took Tamiflu and recovered but it hit me like a train, I was broken for weeks. If Coronavirus is anywhere near as painful and all consuming as that was it will be awful. I can understand how people died from H1N1 and by all accounts this strain sounds worse, although I wonder if the main panic is coming from the fact that although there was treatment for Swine Flu, there really isn't for Covid....

No treatment. How fast it’s spreading. Fact that everyone is lying about true figures. Fact that some people are so stupid they think it’s all a joke.

Apparently - " the outbreak was not as serious as originally predicted, largely because many older people were already immune to it. Most cases in the UK were relatively mild, although there were some serious cases."

Social media is more prevalent now. There are scores of people on Facebook in groups whipping each other up into a frenzy with terrible rumours. Not that many people used Facebook or Twitter as much in 2009.

I was terrified of swine flu at the time. Some of the headlines were awful.

I had swine flu too and also took tamiflu. I’ve honestly never felt so ill in my life.
If or when catch covid19 I’ll let you know how it compares!

My DH had swine flu at the beginning of the outbreak. At the time, I had a 4mo baby, and we were pretty scared he would get it (babies were susceptible), thankfully he didn't. My DH was so, so poorly (and basically left to himself, so I could prevent the DCs getting it ). He has had permanent damage to his lungs, leading to ongoing asthma, increased susceptibility to coughs, chest infections, etc. He has been plagued with ill health in the ten years since, including a period of not working for over two years due to shortness of breath and extreme fatigue/exhaustion, which despite months of NHS investigation no cause was ever found.
Covid-19 hasn't been publicised as having long-lasting effects on those that survive it.
Swine flu has had serious deleterious consequences for my family.

From memory wasn't the incubation period for SW far shorter and it was harder to catch/less contagious?

The incubation periods for C19 is weeks and the symptoms so mild you may not know that you've had it.

I should also say that as a result of the swine flu experience, DH now (understandably) has health anxiety, and of course people with asthma are more at risk if they get covid-19.

Interesting. I was 18 during the swine flu outbreak and largely only interested in myself and partying with my friends at that age, so I don't remember ever feeling worried about it.

I had swine flu in 2009 and my two children had it at the same time. We were all extremely ill for a week and not back to normal for another week afterwards. I remember thinking at the time that I hadn't known it was possible to feel so unwell. But we all recovered with no complications. The swine flu experience has made me less worried about Coronavirus - although it was horrible at the time, we did all recover and it was a relief knowing we were then immune to it.

I don't remember ever being worried about it but we did do a lot of preparation and contingency planning at the time where i was working (local government). We all got trained in different areas as there was an expectation that half the workforce would be off sick. Nothing ever came of it, I believe they've only just run out of all the hand gel they got at the time.

I worked at a major hospital during H1N1 and saw so many young, fit and healthy people falling ill with it and ending up needing ECMO (like a bypass machine) because their lungs were failing. It was truly terrifying working during this, and a lot of it over Christmas. We all did so much overtime because we just couldn't keep up. We cancelled major surgeries to cover the ECMO beds. At one point we had 12 people on it, and 8 of them were under the age of 40.

This time I work in the community. I visit people daily. I am worried because I'm pregnant and I do not think we know the full extent of it yet.

I feel it could go two ways - apocalyptic or we weather the storm and it affect those more with co-morbidities, who may die from normal flu if they suffered with it, which of course is still tragic and heartbreaking.

I remember the immunisation first H1N1 coming out pretty quickly. I can't see that happening this time.

One of my dc has swine flu. I basically isolated them (they were 10 years old) but they were very unwell & took a long time to recover.

They had to have tamiflu & the asthma issues got worse. Youngest dc wasn’t allowed in school.

But I think as SM wasn’t as prevalent the frenzy wasn’t there.

Had not had obviously

If I remember correct, they found a “cure” for swine flu relatively quickly? People were given tablets to take? Distant relation had it, was quarantined to his house and had tablets of some kind to take

Apologies if the tablets part was incorrect, I was in the midst of serious sleep deprivation due to a baby back then!

@bogoffwinter you are correct it was Tamiflu

In 2009 my baby (prem baby) was 9months old & caught swine flu she got through it was very ill but since getting that she is doesnt really get ill with colds or flu. She does get the flu jab since it came out.

I remember getting vaccinated for swine flu- being pregnant I was eligible for the first wave of vaccinations, dh couldn’t get vaccinated until later. The delay was manufacturing enough shots for everyone.

The high % uptake of vaccinations was the reason that swine flu now seems like a fuss about nothing, and experts have worried since that they just kicked the can down the road and that when the next epidemic struck people wouldn’t bother with a vaccination because they’d think “oh here they go again”.
Except, this time, there’s no vaccine.

Swine flu had tamiflu to help, covid19 hasn't got anything similar.

We've been on pandemic alert for quite some time, so far we've largely avoided it through a mix of both luck and judgement. This may still not prove to be it sadly. And I mean sadly as this is bad enough already.

Interesting insights, thanks. I think the relative lack of social media 11 years ago must have helped a lot - although obviously millions of people were still reading tabloids like the Daily Fail with their 24 hour rolling coverage, and Facebook was already very popular then.

I think the lack of vaccine this time is also a massive factor as some have said. Is that why there are so many more drastic containment measures being taken?

Swine flu sounds really horrendous from what people have said - whereas it seems possible to contract coronavirus but only get mild symptoms.

Do people think coronavirus will claim more lives in the UK than swine flu did?