I'd say your suspicions are accurate.
The following kind of puts things in perspective.
CDC estimates* that, from October 1, 2019, through March 7, 2020, there have been:
36,000,000 – 51,000,000 flu illnesses
17,000,000 – 24,000,000 flu medical visits
370,000 – 670,000 flu hospitalizations
22,000 – 55,000 flu deaths
And how about the 2018 flu season in the U.S.
CDC: 80,000 people died of flu last winter in U.S., highest death toll in 40 years.
To be an appropriate comparison with the flu and any other outbreak, you should only compare the flu data during its first month of outbreak, not its sum total.
Current data is showing the COV19 will peak in the US in June. After that time you can compare the data between viruses.
I was just looking for those figures to reply to exDemMom. Thank you.
re the “flu.” It is a non-reportable disease. Most people self-treat at home and never contact a doctor. Doctors don’t usually test for it they diagnose by symptoms and give patients their recommendations.
That means that the number of cases and number of deaths is based on speculation. That’s why there is a huge spread in the estimation. Maybe 22,000 people died of influenza/complications and maybe it was 55,000. In any given year a new strain of flu can pop up and the numbers can increase dramatically.
My point is that giving an absolute CFR of .1% for the flu is a major guesstimate. It is meaningless to use that figure as a basis of comparison to Covid-19 or anything else.
Consider this, if someone gave you investment information with a guess that was as loose as those figures above for influenza cases and deaths would you feel confident in that investment?