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The attention given to COVID-19 is exaggerated to the point of irrationality. Humanity has far worse diseases by any metric. COVID-19 is objectively a lesser health problem.
* COVID-19 has 209 839 confirmed cases so far with 8 778 deaths [1]; a 2 %-4 % case fatality rate among confirmed cases. Taking into account non-identified asymptomatic infections[2] the case fatality rate is < 1 %.
* Influenza infects millions of people, of which 3 000 000-5 000 000 are severe and 290 000-650 000 die every year[3]; that is 33 to 74 times as much as COVID-19 per year. It is readily transmitted between humans.
* Japanese encephalitis, a mosquito-borne disease, has ~67 900 cases every year with a 20 %-30 % case fatality rate (~17 000 deaths per year). 30 %-50 % of survivors are left with permanent brain damage[4].
* Hospital-related infections are responsible for tens of thousands of deaths per year. Staphylococcus aureus is the main cause of hospital-related infections[5]; Staphylococcus aureus is near-ubiquitous in hospitals. Strains that are resistant to antibiotics (usually known as meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA) are increasingly common.
* An historical example: The Spanish flu infected a third of the world population and killed ~50 000 000 people [6].
The attention given to COVID-19 is exaggerated to the point of irrationality. Humanity has far worse diseases by any metric. COVID-19 is objectively a lesser health problem.
* COVID-19 has 209 839 confirmed cases so far with 8 778 deaths [1]; a 2 %-4 % case fatality rate among confirmed cases. Taking into account non-identified asymptomatic infections[2] the case fatality rate is < 1 %.
* Influenza infects millions of people, of which 3 000 000-5 000 000 are severe and 290 000-650 000 die every year[3]; that is 33 to 74 times as much as COVID-19 per year. It is readily transmitted between humans.
* Japanese encephalitis, a mosquito-borne disease, has ~67 900 cases every year with a 20 %-30 % case fatality rate (~17 000 deaths per year). 30 %-50 % of survivors are left with permanent brain damage[4].
* Hospital-related infections are responsible for tens of thousands of deaths per year. Staphylococcus aureus is the main cause of hospital-related infections[5]; Staphylococcus aureus is near-ubiquitous in hospitals. Strains that are resistant to antibiotics (usually known as meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA) are increasingly common.
* An historical example: The Spanish flu infected a third of the world population and killed ~50 000 000 people [6].
