Analysis: At what point could Covid-19 be reasonably compared to a cold or flu?
Covid-19’s levels of fatality far exceed flu, but Omicron’s reduced severity combined with boosters and the arrival of antiviral pills may change that
What is the line of demarcation for when Covid-19 could reasonably be compared to cold or flu?
That would depend on their comparative severity. Daily case numbers for cold and flu are unknown.
But HPSC data on influenza’s mortality rates show that Covid-19 is nowhere near the low levels of fatality for flu yet.
In 2009 to 2019, the 10 years before the pandemic began, a total of 604 deaths from influenza in hospitals were ...