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To: FreedomVsControl
So it really was just the flu.

Not really. It spreads much faster than Influenza (Influenza R0 of 0.9-2.1, SARS-CoV-2 R0 of 1.94-5.7), kills more people than Influenza (0.136% mortality rate for Influenza, "could be as low as 0.26%" for COVID-19), and we have no vaccine to provide any defense against it. Also, there is some evidence to support lasting effects in at least some patients from COVID-19 infection even after recovery.

Given the SARS-CoV-2 R0, we can expect herd immunity at around 80-85%. There are 330 million people in the US. If 80-85% eventually become infected, that's 264 - 280.5 million infected. If 0.26% of them die, that's 686,400 - 729,300 dead Americans by the time we hit herd immunity if we can't develop a vaccine or much better treatments. And that's at the low end, per the CDC info.

Influenza kills an average of 37,000 Americans each year. That's a lot fewer deaths than 700,000. No, it is not "just another flu".

28 posted on 05/24/2020 4:19:52 PM PDT by 2aProtectsTheRest
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To: 2aProtectsTheRest

Does the flu normally infect 80% of the population in a given year?

No.

Then why should corona?


38 posted on 05/24/2020 4:53:53 PM PDT by FreedomVsControl
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