It's objectively far worse than the regular seasonal flu. Probably not as bad, on balance (in part because of better technology) than the 1918 pandemic flu, though we in the US are trying really hard to make up for that by bungling the policy response.
“the flu” covers a very wide range.
Important caveat: it isn't over yet. But I agree that it at least looks like we will be able to avoid that kind of carnage.
Even if that were true, mortality rate isn't alone the complete measure of a disease’s danger, among other reasons because death isn't the harm diseases do.
And it's not, at all, true. The extremely low of estimates of the infection fatality rate for COVID-19 are around the rate of the symptomatic case fatality rate of the seasonal flu, compare IFR to IFR (even with rosy estimates for COVID) or CFR to CFR and COVID-19 is much worse.
In the US:
US mortality due to influenza for 2018-2019: 34,200 [2]
Death to Covid-19 in the US is currently: > 170,000 [3]
We don't have a proven viable vaccine for Covid-19.
[1] https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseas...
Please stop spouting nonsense, it is downright embarrassing.
Sweden does not have herd immunity, they had far more cases and fatalities than their neighboring countries and is not to be compared to the US when it comes to geography, education, general demographics and general state of health and healthcare.
Sick and tired of this being repeated on HN over and over again.
You are utterly clueless and part of the problem, I wouldn't wish this bug on my worst enemy.
Sure it's annoying, but it's not worse than the flu. /s