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by njharman 2339 days ago
I find it hard to get perspective on how devastating and society affecting the Spanish Flu was. Fifty to a hundred million. Dead. 3-5% of the world's humans gone. More from the prime of life than typical for disease. This on tail end of World War One which also killed many more young men.

History we should remember.
1 comments
throwaway5752 2339 days ago
We should also remember that there is nothing about the Wuhan coronavirus that is anything like H1N1 influenza virus.

Wuhan is causing respiratory infection that leads to pneumonia. H1N1 caused inflammatory immune reactions (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4711683/).

So far this virus seems closer to a bad seasonal influenza. 2% mortality rate concentrated in populations over 65 years old. The 2019 Li paper in Lancet had similar numbers in China for the flu. Similar reproduction rate.

I'm not an expert, but some people are are panicking and buying surgical masks (borderline useless) and food supplies. Mass panic reactions are deadly and avoidable.

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yodsanklai 2339 days ago
> I'm not an expert, but some people are are panicking and buying surgical masks (borderline useless)

I'm currently in Singapore. Many people wear masks here, especially at the airport (large majority of people wore mask today). My friends blame me for not wearing one. I checked the WHO recommendations [1] and wearing a mask for general public isn't recommended (EDIT: unless you're sick).

[1] https://www.who.int/ith/2020-24-01-outbreak-of-Pneumonia-cau...

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afjl 2339 days ago
>> I'm not an expert, but some people are are panicking and buying surgical masks (borderline useless)

Please stop spreading this misinformation, particularly if you are not an expert.

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allovernow 2339 days ago
>I'm not an expert, but some people are are panicking and buying surgical masks (borderline useless)

N95 masks are effective in filtering out viruses. Also your conclusions put a lot of implicit faith into numbers reported by the Chinese Communist Party, which has a strong incentive to minimize the problem and probably one of the most facilitating authoritarian cultures to do so.

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