Originally Posted by
jfsully
I just want to chime in here with my repetitive caveat that the IFR of COVID, which we will at some point figure out, should not be compared directly to the CFR of seasonal flu (which is generally estimated around 0.1%).
If anyone can find an IFR of the regular old seasonal influenza (in a population study where they tested asymptomatic people who never thought they had the flu), please post the citation here. It will be very helpful.
Because if the CFR of flu is 0.1% it is extremely likely that the IFR is significantly lower. How many people do you know who get a flu test without any symptoms?
So when I see on the news that COVID IFR is .5%, therefore it is 5x as deadly as flu, I cringe, because many of us expect the IFR to fall to 1% or a little below. And I anticipate people carrying on with "SEE? It IS just like a regular flu" when they see COVID IFR=flu CFR. In my opinion, unencumbered by actual data, the IFR for the regular old flu may actually be 0.01%.