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This is a followup to a previous post. Don't read if you can't be bothered.

Recently I posted a comparative analysis of coronavirus and influenza in the US over the last flu season to now. As a response, someone noted (in bad faith, because they weren't very subtle about wanting to hold onto their erroneous belief on the issue) that there were "650,000 deaths and 1 billion infections" of influenza, which isn't specific to the US but worldwide. It's been bothering me ever since that I didn't also do comparisons between the two viruses/infections at the global scale, so that's what this post is about.

So, to the data
Influenza (global 2019 season)
Cases: 1 billion
Deaths: 650,000
Mortality rate: 0.065%

COVID-19 (global reported incidence, 2019-2020)
Cases: 22.5 million
Deaths: 790,000
Mortality rate: 3.51%

Now, that doesn't seem like a lot, and you'd be right in terms of raw numbers. But that's where context comes in. Covid-19 has not been around (globally, at least) for an entire year, and those numbers are with the sometimes extreme-seeming public health measures such as lockdowns. Influenza, by contrast, has a vaccine which while helpful doesn't necessarily protect against a virus that mutates as quickly as the flu does, and beyond that often has few more public health measures than covering one's nose and mouth while coughing.

Additionally, if the flu were as deadly as COVID-19, that billion cases would have an estimated death toll of 35 million.

I know that nobody will be convinced by this, because those who could be swayed already have been and those who are dug in against it will decry it as a hoax or an election ploy or some such conspiracy theory.

Anyway, hopefully someone other than me found this helpful or interesting or something.
ozgirl512 · 26-30, F
The point you may be overlooking is that either way, flu or cv19, the medical system will be overwhelmed... And secondly, there is a vaccine fur the flu every year to limit the cases
SW-User
@ozgirl512 That is true, but I just wanted to do the comparative analysis because I'm in a mathematical mood. Also, I did mention the flu vaccine, although may not have written it helpfully.
Um... Are there people arguing that COVID is simply a bad flu or something?
SW-User
@12345AB Yes. Not here really, but around the web there are. Or at least there were.....
@SW-User Ohhhh okay. Glad I haven’t come up against any of those people.
SW-User
@12345AB they also tend to follow Trump, which is most likely not a coincidence.
sassypants · 36-40, F
Thank you for sharing this. It gives us something to think about and the way we perceive it.
SW-User
@sassypants Hopefully someone will get a new perspective.
reflectingmonkey · 51-55, M
what I find interesting is that the hygiene and distancing measures, at least here in Canada because we took this seriously, has had a positive effect on other viruses like influenza. Here in Canada we usually get a lot of people suffering from cold virus in the winter time and now it appears almost to have disappeared. now this is just personal observation and asking around, but I regularly ask people " when is the last time you saw someone with a cold or even blowing their nose?" and everyone answers the same, we havent seen anyone sick in months.
Doomflower · 36-40, M
I adore you for posting this
SW-User
@Doomflower Thanks. Just felt like doing some maths
SW-User
@curiosi So memes are all you have. Good to know.

 
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