Go look at the CDC website and read how they calculate flu deaths. They are wholly an estimate based on death certificates from the previous year.
The ONLY reportable to the CDC is Pediatric Flu deaths.
They track flu tests.
The total cases are estimated. The total hospitalizations are the most accurate measure...but even that is a “Flu Related Illness”. And the deaths are estimated a year out.
There is no way the CDC would ever know if you or I were sick with a mild flu. We would never get tested. We would never get reported.
I am not suggesting COVID is the black plague, and I am not opining on whether or not its worse than the flu. I am saying that people making definitive statements about flu numbers this year are not using the official CDC process for counting influenza cases, confirmed cases, or deaths.
When you DO you the NY State government statistics and compare testing of the Flu with Covid testing, and then use the CDC % to estimate flu hospitalizations and deaths...with a starting point normalized the Corona Virus kicks the flu’s ass. In that state. This year.
Part of the problem with the Flu bros is they do not use “like” statistics. They also compare a full year of flu against six weeks of Covid.
Its comparing apples to oranges in the worst way.
The true impact of virus over time is going to have to be a death statistic compared year over year. The “impact” of the virus WILL looks at the impact of people NOT going to the hospital. It will take into consideration the reduction in accidental deaths and any rise in suicides.
The impact measures not Covid Deaths, but the impact of Covid on Society.
It is a concept that takes a little bit of thinking. And it is beyond the emotional grasp of most Flu bros. But it is the single measurement of this whole thing that is worth looking at.
Sorry, that is also incorrect.
CDC:
“It has been recognized for many years that influenza is underreported on death certificates..."
"For these and other reasons, modeling strategies are commonly used to estimate flu-associated deaths..."
"CDC uses a mathematical model to estimate the numbers of influenza illnesses, medical visits, hospitalizations, and deaths in the United States, as well as, the impact of influenza vaccination on these numbers."