Rise In Flu Deaths Make Americans Worry More About Influenza Than Coronavirus

Amidst the recent coronavirus outburst, the number of flu deaths increased in Georgia for the second week in a row. According to a new poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, Americans find flu more worrisome than the deadly coronavirus and a wide share of the population seems moderately confident in the ability of U.S. health officials to handle emerging viruses like coronavirus.

Flu vs. Coronavirus

• While 4 in 10 Americans seem moderately worried about catching the flu, only about 2 in 10 are reportedly concerned about developing coronavirus infection
• Even though COVID-19, has led to more than 75,000 illnesses and 2,000 deaths worldwide, that's nothing compared with influenza.
• In the U.S. alone, the flu has already caused an estimated 26 million illnesses, 250,000 hospitalizations, and 14,000 deaths this season, compared to only 15 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
• Per CDC reports, nearly 660 flu cases were reported in Georgia, influenza A being more dominant with 463 confirmed cases and 242 influenza B cases.
• While both flu and coronaviruses are contagious viruses that cause respiratory illness, typical flu symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, runny nose, headaches, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea, and coronavirus symptoms include sore throat and runny nose and in rare cases- nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.
• Unlike the seasonal flu, there is no vaccine yet for COVID-19.
• Experts opine that a lot is known about the flu viruses and very little is known about COVID-19 and makes it something of a wild card in terms of how far it will spread or how many lives it will take.

“Despite the morbidity and mortality with influenza, there's a certainty … of seasonal flu," Live Science quoted the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci’s White House press conference statement. "I can tell you all, guaranteed, that as we get into March and April, the flu cases are going to go down. You could predict pretty accurately what the range of the mortality is and the hospitalizations [will be]. The issue now with [COVID-19] is that there are a lot of unknowns," he added.