[SeekAndFind]

RE: its amazing how heart attack deaths, cancer and stroke deaths have dramatically dropped for the first time in the history of America.

Two questions:

1) How has OVERALL DEATH from ALL CAUSES in 2020 compared with previous years?

2) How are the FLU cases (and deaths) in 2020 compared to previous years?

[momincombatboots]

I can answer the flu.. I get weekly reports of flu from a major city.. 1 case this year. You can also look at the cdc site. So guess what.. we will be in masks every flu season. ESP since COVID is endemic.

[2aProtectsTheRest]

"1) How has OVERALL DEATH from ALL CAUSES in 2020 compared with previous years?"

• Number of deaths in the US in 2018: 2,839,205 (Source)
• Number of deaths in the US in 2019: 2,854,838 (Source)
• Number of deaths in the US in 2020: 3,291,095 (Source - Preliminary but still rising)

That's 436,000 more in 2020, or an over 15% increase. Normal year-over-year increase is about 0.3% - 0.7%, so 15% is over 30 times the normal increase.

"2) How are the FLU cases (and deaths) in 2020 compared to previous years?"

Low activity so far, but flu season peaks at different times each year; as late as March:

Source

Flu deaths for seasonal flu range from 12,000 per year to 61,000 per year with an average of 36,000 deaths per year. Source. However, seasonal flu spreads similar to how COVID-19 spreads, but has a much lower R0 (~1-1.3 for Influenza vs 4.3 - 5.7 for the latest variants of SARS-CoV-2), so all the disease control measures in place for COVID-19 are likely having an impact on the flu's ability to spread.