People Dying From The Flu

[gab13by13]

My question is this; how many people who are dying from the flu are really dying from coronavirus? Is this a dumb question? I mean if we aren't testing in large numbers how do we know the extent of the virus?

IMO this is what Trump wants; no or little testing so that he can claim the virus fears were blown out of proportion by the liberal media and that's what is causing the downturn in the economy. He thinks the epidemic will be over by April and he just needs to fudge the numbers until then.

[greymattermom]

1. He wants us to die.

But just for fun, someone standing close to him should cough loudly. Then watch what happens.

[zanana1]

2. I hope they get it on camera!

[Dennis Donovan]

3. No one really knows deaths via regular flu vs COVID-19 until they test for it

Last edited Thu Mar 5, 2020, 11:17 AM - Edit history (1)

...and the govt is failing miserably in getting test kits out there. They promised thousands would be distributed by tomorrow, but it's just come out they're "mailing" the kits so it will take longer?? Let me see if I can find the article I saw that in.

On edit - here it is:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-05/u-s-won-t-meet-coronavirus-test-rollout-goal-senators-say

By Daniel Flatley
March 5, 2020, 9:48 AM EST Updated on March 5, 2020, 10:11 AM EST

The Trump administration won’t be able to meet its promised timeline of having a million coronavirus tests available by the end of the week, senators said after a briefing Thursday from health officials.

“There won’t be a million people to get a test by the end of the week,” Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida said. “It’s way smaller than that. And still, at this point, it’s still through public health departments.”

Scott and other lawmakers said the government is “in the process” of sending test kits out and people still need to be trained on how to use them. The entire process could take days or weeks, they said.

“By the end of the week they’re getting them out to the mail,” Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma said. “It’s going to take time to be able to get them, receive them, re-verify them and then be able to put them into use.”

Earlier this week, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn told senators at a hearing that the U.S. would have the “capacity” to perform up to a million tests by the end of the week, a timetable reinforced by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar at a White House briefing Wednesday.

</snip>

[unblock]

4. There are quick and easy tests for the flu

I suspect that doctors are testing for flu more aggressively. If someone has flu symptoms but tests negative for flu, it could well be covid-19.

If instead they test positive for flu, well, that doesn't rule out them also having covid-19, but there's no reason to think they do have it either.

Anyway, flu tests are much more available than covid-19 tests.

[gab13by13]

7. In my 72 years I have never been tested for the flu,

My doctor may tell me oh, it is going around, and just assume I have the flu. Or may prescribe something for me over the phone without my even having visited her.

[unblock]

9. Yes, there usually isn't a compelling reason to test for it

But now, well, obviously it's better to test for covid-19 directly, but as there aren't many test kits available, testing for the flu is a reasonable step.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

5. I'm wondering the same

If we get sick, unless it gets bad enough to go to the hospital (and I'm relatively healthy with a flu shot and no compromised immunity), how will *any* of us know if we're down with a cold, the "regular" flu, COVID-19? And if we have a mild case of COVID-19, how are we even go to know that and avoid (unintentionally) infecting others? I'm not trying to be glib but us hypochondriacs are going to have an awful time with this.

[dewsgirl]

6. Not dumb at all, obviously I don't have verified sources

but this story has been around for a couple weeks

Link to tweet

?s=20
And I find this account endlessly informative.

Link to tweet

?s=20

[gab13by13]

8. Do they test dead people

or just bury them?

[defacto7]

11. I doubt they do here but they do just about everywhere else.

[abqtommy]

10. One way to tell the difference between seasonal flu and COVID-19: I got my flu vaccine this year,

as in previous years so if I'm dying it isn't from flu, it's from COVID-19. Not that I'm planning on that.
I saw yesterday that there's two different strains of COVID-19 to deal with. One strain is mild and the other deadly. By observing symptoms and recovery rates we can tell a lot but nothing beats a valid
medical test.