Do the math on # confirmed / # deaths, and its 1/5 the rate of the seasonal flu. If the seasonal flu’s actual death rate, and the 1/5 holds, its significantly less deadly than the seasonal flu. Confirmed cases != actual cases. Most are mild or regular symptoms and don’t go to the doctor.
Hesitating to wade in to an acrimonious thread..
Roughly 5200 cases in USA 96 deaths = 1.8% Case #’s from John Hopkins site deaths from https://ncov2019.live/data.
Infuenza positive tests Clinical Labs 10/19- 03/07 222,552 plus 39,644 from Public Health Labs
Influenza deaths are reported as 22,000 – 55,000 by the CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm
Interestingly downloading their raw data & doing the addition thru 3/7 there are only 1200 deaths. The CDC explains this discrepancy by saying they do not capture all the cases so they use a mathematical model. This does not give me confidence in their estimates. I prefer the raw data.
If they are correct at the high end the death rate is estimated at: 20% (55k deaths/262k positive tests), low end of their estimated deaths - 8% (22k deaths/262k positive tests), based on the raw death tally estimated death rate is 0.4% (1.2k deaths/262k positive tests.
This exercise has convinced me that the numbers, and the estimates about lethality are the statistician’s version legerdemain, garbage in & garbage out.
I’m glad POTUS is involved and placing this agency under the microscope. They are not worth the price of their hire at present.