[Larry55]

Why is COVID-19 worse than past viruses?

The 1968-69 Hong Kong flu caused 1 million deaths worldwide 6 months after the first case.

COVID-19 has caused 50,000 deaths 4 ½ months after the first case.

The link below contains a chart for the number of deaths from Pneumonia and Influenza in annual flu seasons (page S5).

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.323.4407&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Notice something familiar? Each year there is a sharp, exponential increase in flu deaths, just like we see with COVID-19.

According to this article, the first reported case of COVID-19 was on Nov. 17, 2019.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/13/first-covid-19-case-happened-in-november-china-government-records-show-report

So we are about 4 ½ months after the first case. 982,000 cases/ 50,300 deaths worldwide

“On July 13, 1968, the first case of Hong Kong flu was reported in the city. Over the next six months the disease would claim more than one million lives as it spread to Vietnam, Singapore, India, the Philippines and on to Australia, Africa, South America and Europe.”

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/2154925/how-hong-kong-flu-struck-without-warning-50-years-ago-and

How does the COVID-19 case/ death rate compare with past viruses 4 ½ months after the first case?

I can’t find that data.

What is different about COVID-19 that requires us to respond by mass hysteria and shutting down our world?

I have no idea.

Any suggestions?

[foreverfree]

I’ll read this later

[sheehan]

corrupt media induced panic and TDS.

[Biggirl]

Is this a weaponized virus?

[MortMan]

The first question is “*IS* the chinese corona virus worse than past viruses?”

Once that question has been answered (and it, to date, has NOT been answered) all other questions are derivative from an unknown.

[9YearLurker]

Because it is a modern bioweapon.

[SkyDancer]

Media hysteria. Nothing else going on so what the heck, cause pandemonium.

[P-Marlowe]

I think what they are not telling us is the reason. I think that China probably had a million deaths already and they are lying about the numbers.

[al baby]

Simple Orange man bad

[Kirkwood]

The fact that we have fewer deaths so far indicates we are more aware of what is going on in the world today than in 1968, and that we are apparently doing some things correctly. However it is still early, and we have a long way to go while climbing an exponential growth curve.

[kaehurowing]

It was made in a bioweapons lab?

[Freee-dame]

It is such a shame that we cannot trust anything that comes from our so-called news media.

[DesertRhino]

Democrats in America exploiting a real illness in the latest manifestation of the ongoing coup attempt.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Obama is not president.

Covid-19 is a severe flu virus that basically results in a very aggressive pneumonia for the very old and for those with respiratory/cardiovascular illnesses and issues.

The exteme over-reaction is a knee-jerk reaction to extreme scary reporting by the MSM that hates President Tump.

Should we treat Covid-19 like the normal Flu bug alpha or beta? No It is a severe disease that demands a serious response. But shutting down the nation/world en-masse is a ridiculous over-reaction. People should have been educated STERNLY about the disease and how to avoid it, told STERNLY to avoid others whenever possible, and avoid large groups, and maintain 6-foot separation where possible.

Mandating sheltering ONLY in the worst hot spots as they develop and let the rest of the communities go to work and be out and around. With the severity of the disease and seeing the impact and rapid spread in hot spots, most people would try to follow the recommendations.

Their are entire zip codes without cases. These zip codes shoujld be allowed out and around with the caveat not to stray far from zip codes. This one-size fits all approach is causing at least as much harm as good. At least as much.

[Newtoidaho]

It’s worse only because Trump is president and the leftist whores are trying to create as much hysteria, chaos and panic as possible to try to damage him.

[conservative98]

Why?

Fake statistics.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Democrat and media instigated fear has caused this to be far worse than it would have been.

[motor_racer]

It is being used to create legal precedent for suspending the Constitution. It is being done incrementally by a popular President in good faith, and generally accepted as necessary by the people. But next time, it will be full “boot on necks”, Roman Legion martial law, and the Democrats in power at that time will cite these times as precedent.

[1Old Pro]

I think the biggest difference is that Trump wasn’t President then and is now.

[DannyTN]

1. The current world case mortality rate is > 5%. The US CMR is now >2%. Flu is 0.1%. Some will argue that there might be a lot of cases we don't know about, that would bring that number down some. But it's clearly more deadly that the flu. It's just not as widespread as the flu, yet.
2. It's more infectious than the flu. the flu has a R0 factor of 1.25. Every person that gets it spreads it 2 1.25 more people. CV is believed to have an R0 of 2-3%. The R0 factor is not intrinsic to the virus. We can lower it by social distancing.
3. No immunity. A lot of us have some immunity to the flu. We've had it before. And many of us got flu vaccines. That immunity slows the spread of the flu through the community. Nobody is believed to have immunity to CV. That means the virus will spread through the population infecting far more people than the flu does.
4. No summer break. We're still hoping the virus slows down in summer, but the viral spread in countries that are already having 80 and 90 degree whether cast's a whole lot of doubt on this.
5. Liklihood it will overwhelm our hospital systems. All of the factors above indicate it will overwhelm our hospital systems, exceeding the supply of ICU beds and ventilators, unless we take action to mitigate it's spread.
6. Slow recovery time. Severe cases are ending up on ventilators 20 to 30 days. We're hopeful that treatments can be found that will reduce that. But until we find that treatment, it means patients will be in the hospital longer, taking up beds far longer than a flu patient. <\Ol>

   We've already seen it overwhelm hospital systems in China, Italy, and Spain. When that happens horrible choices have to be made. Italy and Spain have both chosen to deny ventilators to people over 60, so that they can give them to younger people more likely to survive.

[wastoute]

“Novel”. That word is freighted with meaning.