The article begins by stating that this is not like the flu, yet we know people die from complications or directly from the flu every year. And further, we're seeing more and more evidence of huge numbers of the population with antibodies, i.e. already infected and immune. We also have seen the damage that using ventilators have had due to misunderstanding how this virus starves the body of oxygen (through the blood, not like pneumonia). We should continue to focus on treatment and realize that treatment along with population immunity is the best way to handle it now. Waiting a year for a vaccine that may not work or rushing a poorly tested vaccine is not good.
It's not the flu because the infection fatality rate is almost certainly a lot higher, we have no vaccine, and no reliable treatments. Seasonal flu has (semi-reliable) vaccines and antivirals and is almost definitely significantly less deadly.
Look at the excess death statistics. There's no question that it's deadlier than seasonal flu, because the seasonal flu doesn't kill a 9/11s worth of New Yorkers above the usual death rate over several weeks. If the current rate wasn't slowing we'd be looking at a death toll multiple times higher than the seasonal flu.
About 20% of people in NYC showed a positive antibody test. That's not nearly enough for herd immunity and it's not enough to push the infection fatality rate as low as the flu's.
Is it actually excess deaths? So many deaths are being counted as covid-19 that it looks more like we have the same amount of total deaths by all causes and any other year
