With the exception of one hundred pandemic Influenza A virus that preceded modern medicine, the novel coronavirus infected more people and killed more people worldwide in a shorter amount of time than the Influenza A virus in any given year. It is despite our better efforts to try and contain harm, our better awareness of what drives viral spread. Current infection rates are despite masks, despite slight lockdowns.
The novel coronavirus is more likely to be transmitted by people without symptoms ("real" asymptomatics that remain that way and initial symptoms that symptoms begin to develop a day or two after you have coffee with them). This makes this virus more contagious than many other viruses. A single infected individual can transmit the virus to dozens of people during the same prevalent event. This has been shown in many case reports. You do not have to believe me, many sufficiently specific examples of widespread events can be found anywhere, even in the spring; oh, you don't remember this case? And if you do not trust the mainstream media (or the CDC), do not forget the small-scale White House events.
The novel coronavirus is largely transmitted by bioaerosols, small droplets containing viruses that float around enclosed spaces without falling for long periods of time, such as dust particles. About asbestos. This makes it easier to transfer than Influenza A, which is more easily delivered by larger drops (and contaminated surfaces where those drops reside) poured by people who clearly identify and cough or sneeze. When you pair droplets, bioaerosols, indoor spaces, and groups of unmasked individuals together for more than a short moment, you are more likely to have a prevalent event. This is shown by all available epidemiological evidence of Fall surge driving in cases in the northern hemisphere.
The novel coronavirus sends a large number of infectees to the hospital, possibly more than Influenza A. It also leads to a large number of people in need of an ICU bed. This certainly leads to a larger number of people dying from COVID-19 than due to a typical flu strain, despite all the advances in medicine and the fact that we have improved treatment in people with COVID-19 medical distress. People who go to the ICU because of COVID-19 stay in the ICU for an extended period of time - often several weeks; Severe cases can be hospitalized for months. In early December 2020, nearly 100,000 people were hospitalized with medical problems from COVID-19 associated with medical distress.
Because no flu season lasts a whole, uninterrupted, year in each hemisphere. There is no flu season in continuing to kill more than a thousand Americans in a day 9 months in the current flu season. No flu season has killed nearly 400,000 Americans in recent memory. Sure, so far we are only talking about 270,000 dead Americans, yet. But we will be north of 1,500 daily casualties for the foreseeable future, given Thanksgiving travel, upcoming holidays, and winter. In the first week of December 2020, the USA hit more than 2,800 COVID-19 daily deaths on multiple occasions - this is the number of people who died on 9/11, a traumatic day still engraved on collective memory of America and the world. This pandemic resulted in the equivalent of one hundred 9 / 11s in 10 months. And daily statistics are worse today than at the top of the first wave during the spring. This is despite the fact that many people want to avoid being infected and the fact that we know how to protect ourselves.
People may be unaware of the risks from Influenza A and may be unaware of the annual mortality estimates associated with seasonal flu infections. People may not get the seasonal flu vaccine for a variety of reasons, mainly because they do not think they are at risk, or they are hesitant about the vaccine. But no one sitting there denies the actual presence of the seasonal flu virus. There are people out there, right now, who are outright denying that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is true. That it is not yet isolated. I have discussions here on Quora with these people. Or else they will deny that the virus has killed people, or that it is not worse than the flu by many measurement purposes. These people exist and are quite numerous. Many of them commented on this answer, you can read their batshit insanity. And as long as they do not fall into the objective reality, they will remain a reservoir for this virus. And it will keep putting us all at risk.
No vaccine. Pa. It is like saying that there is no water to try and put out the fire and the trees in the forest are constantly inviting everyone into their homes and one of them is secretly burning and soon they are all enough will be consumed by fire. Do people remember point 6? Do you think they will be vaccinated for a virus that they think does not exist or that they are actively trying to reduce as a health risk? In the meantime, these people will remain a significant reservoir for the virus and because vaccines are rarely 100% effective, their continued risk of infection remains a risk to all of us. Flock safety does not directly protect the individual; it does not directly protect people, on average.
It protects people, on average. In favor of fellow Quoran Matt Cary: The rate of serious long-term complications appears to be higher than the flu. And this is the ugly gift that will continue to give in the years to come: long-term lung damage, neurological damage, possible long-term damage to the heart and circulatory system, even to those who "recovered" without ever setting foot on hospital. I have an acquaintance who lost his sense of smell and taste 9 months ago. It has not yet returned. Those are the signs of possible long-term neurological damage. However, we do know that SARS-CoV-2 damages the endothelial tissue lining of our vessels.