Someone on Facebook posted that the same number of people die each year from the flu.

[Kablooie]

And we don't shut down for that.

I pointed out that this is a yearly average for the flu.
The Coronavirus has surpassed the flu in a little over 6 weeks and deaths are still increasing each week, not slowing down.

[lunatica]

1. You're confusing him with facts

[Kablooie]

7. Her response was...

Most of the deaths are in New York.

as if that made it all ok.

[Roland99]

14. 56% were outside of New York State

[underpants]

2. Only old people in Italy died from it

Read that on the Facebook a few days ago

[niyad]

3. Number, not amount.

[Kablooie]

8. Point taken and implemented

[niyad]

10. Thank you.

[Skittles]

4. send them this

Link to tweet

[thesquanderer]

22. Great vid. And one more thing... not only is it that much more contagious...

...but also, a greater percentage of those who DO get it will die. Double whammy.

[Renew Deal]

5. There is a difference between a year and 2 months

[Flaleftist]

6. We have passed that amount in 6 weeks with social ditaancing and shutdowns in place.

Then there is the long-term damage from many covid survivors. Some people are so fucking stupid.

[Thomas Hurt]

9. but, but, but conspiracy and sh*t...

conspiracy is always the answer for the christofascists.

[TreasonousBastard]

11. Yada, yada, yada... That's a favorite meme, and makes sense at first glance, but...

Coronavirus is far more virulent than anything else out there right now. Your answer is correct, but usually won't get through their thick skulls any more than this will:

According to WHO, there are over 4 million deaths a year from communicable diseases:

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death

?sfvrsn=56e8d56c_2

The difference is that the others often have well known and generally effective treatments, vaccinations, or other effective prevention. This thing is so new and so virulent that we have no idea how best to prevent it, treat it, or even know for sure if you're sick from it. We are getting rapidly up to speed, but aren't there yet.

[doc03]

12. I have noticed none of them say anything about gun deaths nt

[Rstrstx]

13. Show them this graph

[Maru Kitteh]

20. EXCELLENT Graph! Deserves it's own OP.

[NoMoreRepugs]

15. 5 to 20% of the US population contract the flu yearly.

Severity of the strain and many other factors account for the % disparity. Assuming the average of the high and low - 12.5% would mean 40million Americans contract the flu in a convoluted”average” year. If the death toll is 40,000 that’s one tenth of one percent. Covid19 “World” statistics show 2,500,000 confirmed cases and 170k deaths on the site I checked. That’s 6.75% for a mortality rate. The China statistics make both numbers suspect.

Certainly appears the death rate of Covid19 is 20,30 or more times more deadly than the flu. There is no vaccine in sight. Do the math - should 30 40 million Americans contract the virus a half million or more people are going to die. Personally, I think the numbers will be much higher. Eliminating social distancing and reopening the economy are going to be disastrous moves.

[BigDemVoter]

16. And. . . . MUCH more contagious than the flu also. . . .

[GulfCoast66]

17. Your first mistake was doing Facebook. Delete that shit.

Second mistake? Engaging an idiot on the internet. They will bring you down to their level of stupidity and beat you thru experience. Or as my Grandfather used to say; never wrestle with a hog in the mud. You’ll both get muddy and the hog likes it.

Best decision I made a decade ago was not to do Facebook or any other of that shit. Most of the drama my friends and family live is from that crap.

Honest question? Can you give it up? Most people I know, once addicted to it can’t leave. Even if they want to. They say they are going to. But never do. Then bitch about the things they see posted there. They seem to need to constant feedback or something.

Why do you care about someone says on Facebook?

[marybourg]

18. I second everything you said.

[GulfCoast66]

21. I've got a real life to live. DU is the ONLY social media I do.

Because I choose to. And have taken months off here when I’m getting too into it.

Too many fish to catch, yard work to do, flirting with my lady of 33 years. And travel if budgets and situation allows.

And no one really cares what I do or think.

This was driven home several years ago when we took my sister and BIL to Paris. The wife and I, although growing up poor have been able to go to Europe almost yearly. We’ve done ok. Not so much my sister. She has done very well but international travel is expensive. Plus she was nervous to go. So we met them there for a full week. It became apparent she did not really want to see Notre Dame, the Tower, the Arch de Triumph or anything. She wanted to get good photos for Facebook. Well she enjoyed see them, got to give her that. But everything had to be good for Facebook. Don’t get me wrong, we had a great time with them. And would do it again. Happily. Loved showing them around.

But she saw everything we did thru the lens of social media. The wife and don’t even take photos of the special places. We figure as we age they will live better in our minds if the memories stay in our minds.

But we are old before our years!

Have a great evening.

[Doodley]

19. Ask how many people he thinks would die of Covid-19 if there was no shutdown and distancing?

[totodeinhere]

23. Both the common flu and coronavirus can be killers.

We need to be vigilant against both.

[7wo7rees]

24. Counterprotester

[malaise]

25. Flu does kill but our relatives are allowed to be with their relatives

in hospitals and we can fly from all over the planet to attend their funerals.
These people are too fucking stupid for words

[ProfessorGAC]

26. Math Is Hard

Reality bites, for the math challenged.
This is 42+k in 54 days, since first attributed death. About 800/day.
It's 8x that of the flu, & until we got to a roar, some of those 54 days were 10 or less.
In a month, we went from 4,000 to 43,000.
1,300/day.
This is distinctively NOT like the flu.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

27. Right

They don't catch the operative word in there: YEARLY. Plus, there are vaccines for it and Influenza is not as infections and rarely kills outside of the elderly and/or immunocompromised. I wish people who say stuff like that would take five seconds to pull up an interview or two with a COVID survivor and then see how blase' they feel about it then. Do the numbers dead in such a short amount ot time not mean anything to them?!