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In reply to the discussion: Got a guy telling me Higher Death rate in 34 states in 2018 flu than in Corona Virus [View all]Squinch
(50,911 posts)8. More than that, the flu numbers don't reflect anything like reality.
Post 2 links to an article that makes this observation:
When reports about the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 began circulating earlier this year and questions were being raised about how the illness it causes, COVID-19, compared to the flu, it occurred to me that, in four years of emergency medicine residency and over three and a half years as an attending physician, I had almost never seen anyone die of the flu. I could only remember one tragic pediatric case.
Based on the CDC numbers though, I should have seen many, many more. In 2018, over 46,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses. Over 36,500 died in traffic accidents. Nearly 40,000 died from gun violence. I see those deaths all the time. Was I alone in noticing this discrepancy?
I decided to call colleagues around the country who work in other emergency departments and in intensive care units to ask a simple question: how many patients could they remember dying from the flu? Most of the physicians I surveyed couldnt remember a single one over their careers. Some said they recalled a few. All of them seemed to be having the same light bulb moment I had already experienced: For too long, we have blindly accepted a statistic that does not match our clinical experience.
Based on the CDC numbers though, I should have seen many, many more. In 2018, over 46,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses. Over 36,500 died in traffic accidents. Nearly 40,000 died from gun violence. I see those deaths all the time. Was I alone in noticing this discrepancy?
I decided to call colleagues around the country who work in other emergency departments and in intensive care units to ask a simple question: how many patients could they remember dying from the flu? Most of the physicians I surveyed couldnt remember a single one over their careers. Some said they recalled a few. All of them seemed to be having the same light bulb moment I had already experienced: For too long, we have blindly accepted a statistic that does not match our clinical experience.
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Got a guy telling me Higher Death rate in 34 states in 2018 flu than in Corona Virus [View all]
Captain Zero
May 2020
OP
Exactly, 3,448 to 15,620 is the accurate annual flu count range. See this OP:
Alex4Martinez
May 2020
#34
Not just apples to oranges, it's 8 month flu season vs just a couple months covid season so far
Cicada
May 2020
#6
We have about as much data as we're going to have for flu in 2018, including estimates
struggle4progress
May 2020
#3
I am not sure, I would have to research it, not that that would give a sure answer
Meowmee
May 2020
#18
I think the dr who wrote the piece said the actual flu deaths counted were around 7 thousand
womanofthehills
May 2020
#20
In a typical year, the average under 50 flu deaths are about 1.2 per 100,000
muriel_volestrangler
May 2020
#9
Why all of the sudden we have to debunk a bunch of crap posted on facebook or told by some relative?
LisaL
May 2020
#27