Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by DXA9zE 2222 days ago
I don't think this has sunk in yet for most people. We can be thankful that the disease is barely any more deadly than an average flu.

Here in Korea, some clubs were reopened and abrutly reclosed because of a spike in coronavirus cases linked to club. This totally confuses the objective. "Flattening the curve" is one thing, and "keeping everything closed until there is zero transmission ever again" is something else. It seems to me that the disease will be with us possibly forever. Whether we reopen today or 6 months from now. If LA County et al have this firm requirement of zero transmission to qualify for reopening:

(1) This is not "flattening the curve" (2) This threshold may possibly never be reached

3 comments

> is barely any more deadly than an average flu. This is heavily debated and the most optimistic of those estimates it at 10x worse -- current reported numbers are closer to 15-20x worse. NYs current mortality rate for this year compared to the flu is 21x: https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/86176

In addition, a lot of people aren't talking about the fact that this seemingly has left a lot of people with significantly longer lung problems: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseas...

There is a study for every truth. There are plenty of other data showing it is hardly dangerous. Also, so many deaths are being counted as covid when the patient already had a severe condition - Dr Birx and many other public health officials have made this clear, too. The numbers are way inflated.
"there are plenty of other data" -- would you be able to educate with some sources? I've been digging in deep and trying to keep an impartial opinion, but have not seen solid evidence that this is true -- or, as you say "there is a study for every truth", I've seen no study to indicate "it is hardly dangerous" (which also feels subjective in those words)

> Also, so many deaths are being counted as covid when the patient already had a severe condition

Yes... as many scientists talk about, COVID-19 has a much more severe effect in people with underlying conditions. Here is where Dr. Fauci, or the CDC as a whole talks specifically about underlying issues: https://www.cdc.gov/.../hcp/underlying-conditions.html

"the numbers are way inflated" is using generalized language for something that might be true, but even if you take a _very_ conservative view and consider 50% of the reports are false (and I've seen nowhere claiming it's anywhere near that high), the 50% of remaining deaths and complications are significantly high enough that it's far worse than the flu, and far worse if lockdown wasn't in play where some basic math indicates it would be 10x worse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kas0tIxDvrg

Given that even "regular" pneumonia has effects that can last months or even a year, it is too soon to draw conclusions in one way or the other.
Flu is also vaccinated against among the most vulnerable.
It's barely more deadly than the average flu when viewed across the entire population, but to the part of the population in a nursing home, it's basically like ebola. There have been multiple nursing homes just in my state that are seeing death rates between 20 and 40 percent, which is just bonkers.
Over here on the East coast of the US we're looking at Cali and saying "they did it right." "People" are blaming NY on the fact that a lot of people arrive their from foreign ports (air and other)- completely oblivious to the fact that if you are coming from China SF and LA are also destinations-and maybe preferable for flights.

It's really a case that because they contained it so well it looks like they didn't need to. Kudos.

Neither LA or SF have the subway that resembles Tokyo in how busy it is but has nothing in common with Tokyo in how clean it is.