While the impact of flu varies, it places a substantial burden on the health of people in the United States each year. The CDC estimates that influenza has resulted in between 9 million – 45 million illnesses, between 140,000 – 810,000 hospitalizations, and between 12,000 – 61,000 deaths annually since 2010. In fact, COVID-19 has killed more people than the last 5 flu seasons combined.
COVID-19, in the US most likely began infecting our population sometime before the first recorded death on Feb 6, 2020. It has infected over 7.7M people in the US, and accounted for over 215,000 deaths in just 8 months, nearly quadrupling the death rate of the influenza virus.
It also has wreaked lifelong havoc on many people who've survived the illness. Survival doesn't always mean unscathed.
As a reminder, the CDC estimates a safe vaccine won't be available until the end of the second to the third quarter of 2021.
How does this timeline affect the actual numbers? Let's say the general public will be able to get the vaccine by late June 2021. By then over 16M cases will have occurred and over 452,000 deaths will be recorded. How is this acceptable?
Herd immunity seems to be the way most people expect to return to "regular life". It's estimated herd immunity will require 70% of the population to be infected minus those who have already been infected or over 223M people. For the US, on average 2.8% of cases end in death. This means for herd immunity to play out before a vaccine is ready over 6M people will die in the US. How is this acceptable?
There seems to be a total lack of logic in dealing with this pandemic. And yet history should have guided us.
So why is it that there is such a backlash against common-sense precautionary measures we all can practice to help mitigate this disease? Why is it that certain portions of the population tend to minimize this disease? Why is there such contempt from these people towards those who are willing to practice prevention? Are we free to disrespect others during a worldwide pandemic, endangering their health and possibly their lives? Have we become so self-centered, and entitled that we no longer care for our fellow man? Has life become all about what most can be taken and gotten out of life?
