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I noticed some time ago that even on this site, there were some deniers, about Covid 19 who were pushing the much touted, lets keep a sense of proportion, line. Quoting the figures about seasonal flu, which it seems, to take the USA as an example, on average kills about thirty thousand people every year. Well Covid, despite all the extra precautions taken, is now well over forty thousand in two months in the US alone, and still counting. Now would be a really good time to start show a sense of proportion, do you not think ? Or are some people just oblivious to even basic maths ?

#USA #Flu
Fernapple 9 Apr 20
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1

I think the comparisons with other causes of death are still very relevant. We will have treatments for this disease, and possibly a vaccine. Its much easier to "over look" a very real killer like the flu or gun deaths or car wrecks, when they feel like they aren't random or unpreventable. Same reason people care so much more about random or accidental shootings, or wrecks where one person is clearly at fault, or flu deaths to people who did everything right but died anyhow. If we feel like people are inviting their own destruction, we are ok with it. Look at all the posts about how good it is when only certain people die from COVID19 (church goers or protestors), but the horror that some people who are "innocent" will die too. Or the controversy about protecting people in prisons and jails.

We can't abide by COVID19 now, but we will normalize it too. And if we treat it the same way as we treat other infectious diseases like the flu (regardless of outcome, the way flu and COVID19 are transmitted, is very similar), we will never get COVID19 under control. Public health is easily forgotten.

4

Some people don't believe the "wet paint" sign until they personally see someone get paint on them.

1of5 Level 8 Apr 20, 2020
2

I’ve wondered, with regard to the proportion of flu deaths; considering the most vulnerable get vaccinated yearly against it, would that not bring it’s death number down tremendously? If we were to have let a seasonal flu run rampant through society, I wonder if it’s percentage of deaths wouldn’t be much closer to China-19?

It is the shits to watch this politicized, but that’s how one side in the US divides & conquers..

Varn Level 8 Apr 20, 2020

China-19???

@bingst Source, China; year, 2019; Contagion, Viral ~

That is very true, but then we don't use lock down measures for seasonal flu, so what would Covid have done if we had not done that.

@Fernapple Additionally, there are generally three to four flu strains included in each (seasonal) vaccination, not just one..

2

I agree that precautions are justified, and I am strictly observing the lockdown, probably better than the average person since I grow much of my food.

Nevertheless, I urge a sense of proportion. There is a tendency for the media, and politicians to blow any crisis way out of proportion and to stir up fear and dissension.

Compared with some previous epidemics, this virus is a walk in the park. The pros and cons of any proposed action should be considered carefully, lest the cure be worse than the illness.

I am bothered that so many people are using the crisis as a vehicle for political posturing when what is needed most is unity.

@OwlInASack How can you know which is the best advice from scientists? There are different ideas about what the best response should be.

Sweden seems to be coming out of the crisis using their own philosophy of herd immunity.

[dailymail.co.uk]

Unity

@OwlInASack I will take your counsel into consideration.

3

As long as trump denies the severity of this virus, his ignorant sheep will continue to do so as well...

1

Yes. We need to see tallies of all deaths now this season, combined totals. Make very simple, basic graphs. More people may begin to understand this way. Others will continue to be hard-headed.

2

Just imagine how many more deaths there would be if isolating measures had not been put in place. The problem is that at this point, with no vaccine, the number of potential deaths that could be imagined is still possible. We've only just spread out the pandemic over time.

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