OKLAHOMA CITY – I did some research after hearing yet another claim that the death rate from COVID-19, which has no vaccine, is lower than the death rate from influenza, which has vaccines. I have no idea where that claim originated – perhaps on Faux “News”? – but the statistics say otherwise.
The following data comes from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – which I daresay knows more about this subject than do Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Laura Ingraham.
The CDC reports that from 2013-14 to 2018-19, annual fatalities from influenza ranged from 23,000 to 61,000. In the 2019-20 flu season, U.S. illnesses attributed to influenza were estimated at 39 million to 56 million; those resulted in hospitalizations estimated at 410,000 to 740,000, and deaths estimated at 24,000 to 62,000.
Remember: all of those statistics were for 12-month periods. Additionally, you may recall that the U.S. medical community typically has to cope with a different strain of influenza each year.
The coronavirus invaded the U.S. this year. It has resulted in almost 2.9 million confirmed infections and 132,000 deaths -- in just six months.
The CDC statistics show that the death rate from the coronavirus, without a vaccine, is much higher than the death rate from influenza, regardless of whatever vaccine is available in any given year.
Incidentally, remember when Rush Limbaugh said the coronavirus is no worse than the common cold? To date, 404 Oklahomans have died from COVID-19. I don’t know of anyone who has died from the common cold. Maybe there have been a few, but I seriously doubt that 404 Oklahomans have died from the common cold this year or in any other year.