Preemptive TL/DR: Your sources information is shit and once again, you lack critical thinking.
So you're a cold hearted little bitch? Of course I'm emotional. You want some facts?
It's not the flu. It's five times as deadly.
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6942e3.htm
They are comparing current numbers of a brand new (for all intents and purposes) virus to a virus that has been around for at least 100 years and we have a vaccine (of sorts) for. That's just useless writing.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/1918-pandemic-history.htm
The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. Although there is not universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, it spread worldwide during 1918-1919. In the United States, it was first identified in military personnel in spring 1918.
It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States. Mortality was high in people younger than 5 years old, 20-40 years old, and 65 years and older. The high mortality in healthy people, including those in the 20-40 year age group, was a unique feature of this pandemic.
10% of people died from the biggest and believed to be original Flu outbreak world wide. 1.18M current global COVID-19 deaths with 45.1M cases too date is a 2.6% mortality rate.
675K U.S. deaths = 3X current deaths from COVID complications* at a time when we only had 103.2M people = less than 1/3 of our current population.
Not only were masks used at certain points during the 1918-1920 pandemic, this was a time with 19.2% of the current global population and thus social distance wasn't just recommended, it was common place and it still spread to 1/3 of people worldwide. 0.58% of the current population was or is infected with COVID, at a time were there are many, many people stacked on top of each other in very closely packed cities. People flocked to cities in the early 1900s, but not in the droves that they do now.
The important take aways from this are:
1. If you're going to compare statistics, use relevant information.
2. You were ~4X more likely to die from the Flu on a global scale.
2. It takes time with a new virus to figure it the fuck out. What we do know is protect the vulnerable and don't cuckold the healthy that are able to keep things going and provide for those in need. Especially at this point.
A. Don't put unhealthy people with a new disease in nursing homes.
B. If it is proven not to spread or have very little to no effect in certain groups, there's no reason they can not continue to bring in tax money (work).
C. If you follow B, the need for government "stimulus" is greatly reduced or is renamed to "future tax money used to help along those that have become too ill to work". There's probably a better name than that. The main group with this round of virus is majorly outside of the working age in just about every country, so there would be little funds needed to float some people along. I also lean towards people need to set themselves up for hard times. The government wouldn't need to stimulate an economy they shut down if they don't shut it down.
3. Modern medicine, technology, knowledge, and communication has most likely helped and definitely hurt (mostly communication) in this circumstance vs. 100 years ago.
4. We still have no "answer" for Influenza, just a guess for those that take it and seems to work... Discounting the 11 year average** of 29.6M estimated symptomatic illnesses caused by the Flu
in the U.S. alone. 100 years later and vaccine and built up immunity for the Flu, the death rate is down to 0.125%. It took 40 years to develop that vaccine, where we are looking to have one within a year for something with far less infection rate and a much lower starting mortality rate.
5. If you are in Government and want to tout about how bad a virus is and people of our country need money to survive because we said to shut everything down, don't add in any extra money for anything other than what directly goes to the people. If you want to keep business' afloat because you said to shut everything down, make it separate. If you want to add in money to this savior plan for
illegal immigrants, fuck off.
*This is not factoring in the CDC also said only 6% of deaths are due solely to COIVD-19. There were a bunch of people on their way out, and COIVD-19 didn't due them any favors, labeling them a COVID-19 only death is a bit dicey to say the least. This may have also held true for the 1918-1920 Influenza outbreak.
** high low of 2010-2020 estimates are 45M-21M with 2012 being an outlier at a 9.3M estimate. And again, these are not all Flu only situations.
