I think all of these studies (LA, Santa Clara) are great news showing the actual mortality rate is so low. I am not worried about getting it- I am healthy and have no co-morbidities- but I still think it’s kind of creepy. I have 2 friends who had it. They were both pretty sick but on par with having the flu. The scary part is neither has regained his sense of smell. I can’t imagine losing taste and/or smell! Someone reported that eating pizza was like biting into cardboard. Terrible!
I had nasal reconstruction surgery back in the 80s. At the time they put a nose pack in to provide support for bones knitting and general healing. Obviously this eliminated my sense of smell. I found that the majority of my taste sensation disappeared. Food of all kinds was flat and pretty tasteless. Just all texture. At the first doctor visit post surgery I asked my doc about it. He confirmed that the vast majority of our sense of taste originates in our sense of smell. Go figure. Hopefully for the Whoo Hoo Flu victims it is a temporary loss.