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Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(108,062 posts)
Mon Feb 24, 2020, 08:50 PM Feb 2020

Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity

Harvard University epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch is predicting the coronavirus "will ultimately not be containable" and, within a year, will infect somewhere between 40 and 70 percent of humanity, The Atlantic reports. But don't be too alarmed. Many of those people, Lipsitch clarifies, won't have severe illnesses or even show symptoms at all, which is already the case for many people who have tested positive for the virus.

That's precisely why he doesn't think the virus can be stopped. Viruses like SARS, MERS, and the avian flu were eventually contained in part because they were more intense and had a higher fatality rate. In other words, if you were infected by the virus that caused SARS, chances were you weren't out and about. But because the current coronavirus, known as COVID-19, can be asymptomatic, or at least very mild, there's a better chance people will likely go about their day as normal. The down side, though, is that it becomes harder to trace and prevent. In that sense it's similar to the flu, which can also be deadly, but often passes without the infected person seeking medical care.

The Atlantic reports Lipsitch is definitely not alone in his prediction. There's an emerging consensus that the outbreak will eventually morph into a new seasonal disease, which, per The Atlantic, could one day turn "cold and flu season" into "cold and flu and COVID-19 season." Read more at The Atlantic.

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Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Feb 2020 OP
Whoa . . . Iliyah Feb 2020 #1
I seem to recall that people who went throught the 1957-1958 flu outbreak did not get rzemanfl Feb 2020 #2
Wash your hands frequently. Let's hope they can get a vaccine going. YOHABLO Feb 2020 #3
I doubt it. roamer65 Feb 2020 #4
this is how edhopper Feb 2020 #5
Well that MAGAts should be safe at least if you know what I mean Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Feb 2020 #6
yes edhopper Feb 2020 #7
ROFL! Jamastiene Feb 2020 #8

rzemanfl

(29,565 posts)
2. I seem to recall that people who went throught the 1957-1958 flu outbreak did not get
Mon Feb 24, 2020, 08:59 PM
Feb 2020

a much more recent (this century) virus. I wonder if many people have some resistance to COVID-19?

roamer65

(36,745 posts)
4. I doubt it.
Mon Feb 24, 2020, 09:06 PM
Feb 2020

The 1918 -1920 flu epidemic reached about 33 percent.

Even though many may be asymptomatic, the quarantine measures invoked are going to restrict their movement and suppress the overall infection rate.

It did 100 years ago and will do so again.

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