Medical professional here right on the front ass line of this shit, here to correct some inaccuracies on this fear mongering because y’all are doing my god damn head in.
COVID-19, specifically the new coronavirus responsible for this mass panic, is equally as contagious as influenza, in that it’s transmitted by droplet and fomites, meaning the SAME precautions are required for both [x]
The word you’re looking for is ‘fatal’, not ‘mortal’.
Influenza is contagious within the first few days of an individual becoming sick, however can be transmittable up to 7-10 days afterwards. This means Influenza can spread faster than COVID-19 [x]
The prevention for both diseases is the same: cough etiquette, good hand hygiene and containment if unwell. The treatment is the same: rest, symptomatic management, and supportive measures in the case of severe disease.
Death toll: the overall mortality rate for COVID-19 is 3.4% [x]. As of posting, it’s March 12, so that number is likely to change with each day that the situation evolves. It’s likely we will see the number decrease as the virus spreads and the ratio of recovered people to people who have died evolves. This number is highly changeable and it’s impossible to provide an accurate reflection of it given the rapidly changing nature of the knowledge we have.
Of these deaths, 14% have been people over the age of 80 (reflecting comorbidities such as lung or heart disease), as opposed to 0.4 of 40-50′s and 0.2% in people aged 10-39. So no, not ‘a lot of young people have died’. [x] Only one known case of someone under the age of 19 has died in China [x].
By comparison, this flu season, 136 paediatric patients have died with influenza associated pneumonia in the USA alone [x]. Influenza is far less discriminatory in who it infects and who is susceptible to severe illness, with several. strains targeting young, healthy and otherwise fit individuals in particular.
Doctors never choose to save one life over another. If they do, they should not be a doctor, and you have a lawsuit on your hands. If a hospital is overwhelmed with equipment shortages, they will find a way to treat the patient anyway. My hospital for example has the capacity to look after up to five patients requiring intubation (a machine doing the breathing for you). In the case where we have had people needing ICU and our ICU is full (which has happened the last few flu seasons), we have treated the patient anyway in the ER and then transferred the patient to a hospital capable of continuing their care. I’m so gobsmacked that you’d even make a remark like this that I’m honestly wondering whether or not i should be offended.
As of march 10, over 66 thousand people have recovered from the disease. That is more than half of those infected.
I understand being afraid and uncertain because this is a new virus and the response to it is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before with other pandemics (Hello SARS, hello MERS, hello Swine Flu, hello HIV/AIDS! A few notable mentions since the 00′s). But for everyone using this website, the OP of the tweet posted is right: you probably won’t die from it. At most, you’ll feel like you’ve had the worst cold of your entire life and be stuck in bed for a few days.
Take precautions! Wash your hands! Isolate yourself for 14 days if you’ve been in contact with someone who has the virus.
But please stop spreading misinformation about the virus because it is doing NO one any favours and it is only contributing to irrational fear that is putting MORE burden on health systems that are already struggling enough.
Sincerely, your local exhausted Emergency RN.
