Most people are done with COVID-19. Look around the next time you go shopping or get on an airplane. Almost no one is wearing a mask. Some people insist that masks do not work. Others believe that masks are worse than nothing, but they offer few, if any, solutions. At last count, roughly 1,500 people are dying each week from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Dr. Cameron Wolfe is an infectious disease expert at Duke University. He told ABC news that deaths are down from the peak two years ago, “but there’s still a pretty significant mortality; 1,500 patients dying every week is unacceptable, frankly.” That means that a lot more people will die from COVID-19 before this pandemic really ends.
How Many People Will Die from the Flu or Die from COVID-19?
I cannot answer the question about the flu. In my opinion, the CDC does a crappy job tracking influenza. When COVID was at its worst, we received regular updates from the CDC about the number of cases and deaths for any given day.
That is unavailable for influenza. The U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report will offer new numbers on January 12. But they will be a week or three behind what’s actually happening.
Last week (Jan. 5, 2024) the CDC reported a 17.5% increase in “clinical lab” influenza cases. It relies on a “surveillance” system to detect flu cases and deaths. You can read more about “U.S. Influence Surveillance” at this link.
It relies upon:
“Approximately 100 public health and approximately 300 clinical laboratories located throughout all 50 states…”
That’s just a drop in the influenza bucket. To give you some idea of how modest this effort is, here are last week’s numbers:
“• During Week 52, of the 651 viruses reported by public health laboratories, 581 (89.2%) were influenza A and 70 (10.8%) were influenza B. Of the 342 influenza A viruses subtyped during Week 52, 300 (87.7%) were influenza A(H1N1) and 42 (12.3%) were A(H3N2).
“• Seven influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported during Week 52, bringing the 2023-2024 season total to 27 pediatric deaths.”
The CDC “Estimates” Cases and Deaths from Flu:
The Week of Dec. 30, 2023 CDC influenza surveillance
If you look at last week’s CDC map of influenza cases, you will see that it shows most of the country has high to very high “activity level.” North Carolina, where we are based, is indigo. That is the very highest ILI (influenza-like illness) level.
As I write this, the headlines in NC report 96 flu-related deaths. North Carolina is is now rated ninth in state population, just behind Georgia, Ohio and Illinois. Trying to extrapolate across the country is risky business, but I will take a wild guess and suggest that as many as 5,000 people have died from influenza this flu season. The CDC estimates 6,500 deaths “from flu so far this season.” Whatever the number, it is way smaller than the toll from COVID-19.
Will You Die from COVID-19?
We certainly hope not! Will you catch SARS-CoV-2 for the first, second or third time? That’s a distinct possibility. If you are older, have chronic health conditions or a weakened immune system because you are taking a drug that affects immunity, there is a greater risk you could end up in the hospital with COVID.
We are not out of the woods with this virus. It keeps mutating. We were told that it would gradually become less dangerous. Tell that to the 1,500 people who died last week.
A typical Boeing 737-800 carries about 189 people. So, the number of people who died last week from COVID would be about the equivalent of 8 jets crashing. How would you feel if you woke up every day to headlines that reported another jet crashing?
We have become numb to COVID deaths. I find that tragic. What about you? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
