* This is the post above, reposted without the mess:

Dear Reader:

My earlier post to you was based on Wikipedia information on a variety of topics. The current is based on the same as well as sources that I will mention.

Let’s look at Covid-19 vs. the seasonal influenza aka the flu:  both are infectious, viral (both caused by RNA viruses), airborne, as well as being transferred directly by touching an infected surface and then touching one’s face, or shaking someone else’s hand. Both can be mild or severe, there are common symptoms to the two, like fever, coughing and fatigue, both can result in pneumonia, and both can be spread by people before showing symptoms.

In Wikipedia’s entry on Influenza it reads: “Frequent hand washing reduces the risk of viral spread, as does wearing a surgical mask.. Reasonably effective ways to reduce transmission on influenza include good personal health and hygiene habits such as: not touching the eyes, nose or mouth, frequent hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes; avoiding close contact with sick people; and staying home when sick.. face masks might help prevent transmission when caring for the sick.. surface sanitizing may help prevent some infections. Alcohol is an effective sanitizer against influenza viruses.. Social distancing strategies.. such as closing schools, churches and theaters, slowed the spread of the virus”- all this is true for influenza and Covid-19.

But the two are not the same. According to www. hopkinsmedicine. org/ health/ conditions and diseases/ coronavirus/ coronavirus- disease- 2019- vs- the- flu (no spaces), there is a list of differences between the two:

(* what’s in parentheses in what follows are my comments)

1. Covid-19 is caused by one virus, SARS-CoV-2 while the flu is caused by any of several different types and strains of influenza viruses.

2. It is possible that Covid-19 is spread more easily than the flu, that the droplets from a Covid-19 infected person’s breath/ cough/sneeze remains in the air longer than do the droplets from a flu infected person. (Each Covi-19 sufferer infects between 2 to 3 others,Ro=2.2, which is a reproduction rate up to twice as high as seasonal flu, which typically infects 1.3 new people for each patient, Ro=1.28).

3. In the case of the flu there are antiviral medications that can address symptoms and sometimes shorten the duration of the illness. No such medications for Covid-19 exist at this time.

4. There are vaccines for the flu (and have been for a long, long time, although previous vaccines become ineffective because the influenza viruses mutate a lot, so the vaccines have to be updated regularly). Existing vaccines are effective in preventing some of the most dangerous flu types/ reducing the severity of the flu.  There is no vaccine for Covid-19 at this time (or for any of the known coronaviruses).

5. There is an estimated 1 billion cases of the flu worldwide, and (close to a million) cases of Covid-19 (in roughly 4 months of the outbreak turned pandemic)

6. There are 291,000- 646,000 worldwide flu deaths, and close to 40,000 worldwide Covid-19 deaths (in roughly 4 months of this outbreak turned pandemic), “the mortality rate of Covid-19 .. is thought to be higher than that of most strains of the flu”. (The CFR, Case Mortality Rate, of the seasonal flu is 0.1%, the CFR of Covid-19 was estimated by WHO on March 3 to be 3.4%).

7. Lots of people carry antibodies for the flu because of being previously infected by the it (although antibodies for a previous flu may not work for a new case of the flu because of the high rate of mutation of the influenza viruses), and therefore have immunity for it, but because Covid-19 is new, people do not have antibodies for it/ have no immunity to it.

8. According to healthline. com/ heath/ coronavirus- vs- flu # differences (no spaces), Covid-19 symptoms are mild in the beginning and develop gradually while the flu symptoms develop rapidly, Covid-19 takes 2-14 days to incubate, while the flu takes 1-4 days, the most common symptoms observed in Covid-19 are: fever, cough, fatigue and shortness of breath. Shortness of breath is not in the list of common symptoms of the flu.

“Data to date suggests that about 20 percent of people with Covid-19 experience severe or critical illness, requiring hospitalization and often the administration of oxygen or mechanical ventilation. Although there are millions of flu cases each year in the United States, a smaller percentage of flu cases are estimated to result in hospitalization”

— More tomorrow.