I’m as concerned as the next guy about the Coronavirus. But if we take some facts regarding the , flu vs this Corona virus. we might be able to put things into perspective.
I’m not trying to make light of this but panicking before its time is not good for anyone. See the quote below: 12,000 people in the US have died of the flu so for this season. Where were the news trucks and panic here? This Corona Virus is new news that is getting the major spotlight right now.
Everything I have read has said that if you get it, and you aren’t a small child or elderly, it will be roughly like getting a case of the flu. Should we be concerned, of course. Should we change our way of life. I don’t think so.
I quote from “Heath” on line:
While everyone is in a panic about the coronavirus (officially renamed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization), there’s an even deadlier virus many people are forgetting about: the flu.
Flu season is hitting its stride right now in the US. So far, the CDC has estimated (based on weekly influenza surveillance data) that at least 12,000 people have died from influenza between Oct. 1, 2019 through Feb. 1, 2020, and the number of deaths may be as high as 30,000.
The CDC also estimates that up to 31 million Americans have caught the flu this season, with 210,000 to 370,000 flu sufferers hospitalized because of the virus.
The official toll of the 2019-2020 flu season won’t be known for months. The season itself could last until May, and only preliminary estimates will be available until data is finalized.
“The current flu season has been difficult, but it has not reached epidemic threshold,” infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, MD, senior scholar at the John’s Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore, tells Health. “In the next couple of weeks, when more data is available, it will become clear just how severe the season was given that we had an initial dominance of influenza B and now dominance of influenza A H1N1.”
People still got on airplanes, went to movies, go to school, and live their lives. Just what is different now. I’ll tell you, the 24-hour news cycle.
We have had a number of questions about PIE and whether we should postpone or cancel. PIE is proceeding and will be happening in 18 days. I have been in contact with the organizers of Intertraffic, the largest parking and transportation event to be held anywhere on the planet. It is scheduled for next month in Amsterdam. Over 30,000 people from all over the world visit the trade show every other year. They have been in contact with the World Health Organization and are carrying on as normal. Will they take precautions, sure? And so, will we.
I have another comment on this event. I’ll forward it in a blog tomorrow.
JVH
