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In reply to the discussion: Blumenthal after classified coronavirus briefing: "appalled and astonished by the inadequacy..." [View all]Warpy
(111,254 posts)The death rate, based on numbers updated daily at the BBC is about 3%. The death rate among people over 80, especially those who are already ill, is just short of 15%.
The only thing holding down the influenza mortality rate is yearly vaccination. Without that, the flu is about 2% fatal, mostly among the elderly and young children.
The reason Covid-19 is less contagious is that it's a mid to lower respiratory system virus. Infected people cough out droplets, but those mostly land on surfaces. Sneezing spreads fine aerosols up to 30 feet, but most people present with a nonproductive cough and a fever, not sneezing. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/symptoms.html
If you want to avoid it, stop touching you face with your fingertips unless you have washed your hands. Avoid crowds. Teach people around you to cough and sneeze into the crooks of their elbows, it's the only thing that works to stop aerosolized droplets. If somebody with a hacking cough comes to visit, wipe down surfaces with antiseptic wipes. If you want to wear a mask when you're out and about, it will keep you from touching your face with contaminated fingers. And wash your hands, counting to 20 while you do it. Hand sanitizer is useless, save your money, you need to soap them and drown them in water.
A vaccine entered the first human trials this week.